Tricked Out
by Aria of Life
Summary: Ivy Kunze lives in Germany and longs to be a great skater, despite the rivalry between her and her former teammate. When Ivy discovers a strange forest with Holiday symbols and her skateboard falls down a tree, she is transported to a world of terrifying Halloween creatures who don't know the difference between scaring and harming.
1. Chapter 1

Ivy sat perched on her skateboard, watching the sun slowly appear on the horizon. Her notepad sat waiting in her lap, Ivy touched the pencil to the paper, her eyes fixed on the trees around her. It was October 3, the Day of German Unity. All her friends were already up and getting ready for the festivities- her friend Lara was arranging a food booth for the downtown party. All the stores and banks were closed, but Ivy wasn't ready to head back yet.

The sun finally reached the circle of trees, and the clearing with the spiral shaped floor. Ivy readied her pencil and searched the trees, willing the symbol to appear. At last, a faint glowing came from a different cluster of trees. She ran over to see a large German flag being etched onto the front of the tree. Ivy snorted in amusement and jotted the image down, where it joined countless others that had appeared on the trees.

She had found this place four months ago when she'd gotten lost skating through the woods. On the day of a holiday, the symbol would appear on one of the trees. But after a few days, once the festive spirit died down, the symbol would fade away.

Her cell rang suddenly, causing her to draw a large line through her drawing. She swore and answered, practically growling at the caller.

"Hello?!"

 _"Hey Ivy! Man, you've gotta get down here. Dodgers is keeping the skate park open today, remember? We need to practice!"_

Ivy sighed. It was Ben, one of her friends at the skate park where she spent her whole life. Ben was a few years older than her, and Dodgers was the skate parks' owner. They were putting on a special performance today for the town today.

"Crap! You're right! Sorry, man, be there in a flash…" Ivy shoved her notebook deep into her pocket and jumped on her skateboard. Within minutes she was zooming through the woods and onto the streets, where passerby's instinctively turned away from her. The pavement rattled against her wheels and the wind whipped through her blue and black hair.

She finally arrived at the park, where Ben was cleaning out roller skates. He looked at her and sighed.

"Iv, you're allowed to do whatever stupid thing you want outside the park, but in here…"

"…helmet is law. I got it, Ben." She grabbed her favorite helmet from behind Ben and clicked the straps under her chin. "I don't do tricks outside the park, Ben. Not the dangerous ones, anyway."

"That's BS and we both know it." Ben sighed. "All right, get to it. I want to see some sharper stuff then what we had yesterday, got it?"

"I got it." Ivy yelled over her shoulder as she pushed herself towards the Dip.

The Dip was your typical U-shaped ramp, but Hazel viewed it as one of her oldest friends. Her uncle had brought her to the skate park when she was younger and rented her a pair of skates, and she'd never looked back. As she gained speed rolling down the Dip, she wondered about the trees for the thousandth time. Where did the symbols come from? Why were they there? She'd noticed, last Easter, that the egg appeared to be a door. She knew it must be, but she could never bring herself to touch one of the doors. Where would they lead?

"IVY! Get your head out of the clouds! Let me see that turn again."

Ivy nodded and pushed off. When she reached the top of the Dip, she held her skateboard in one hand and the edge of the Dip with another. She straightened her whole body, banishing thoughts of strange symbols and magic doors. She effortlessly turned inward and landed sharply on the ramp, speeding down the Dip once more.

Ben looked impressed when she'd finally rolled up to him, kicking her board up and placing a hand on her hip. "I think I'm ready to try the stairs again." Ignoring Ben's bit lip, she rolled her neck and headed across the park.

The stairs were a long series of ramps that a skater would have to jump to reach the next one. Ivy hated the course but constantly pushed herself through it.

Ben sucked his teeth as she pushed towards the stairs. Ivy steadied herself and then leaped for the first set.

 _CRASH!_

Ivy blinked stars out of her eyes and glared up at Ben, who was shaking his head pityingly.

"You hesitated. It's always the same. You always wait a half second too long or go too soon. Your body knows what it's doing, trust it." He pointed a thumb towards the streets. "Forget the fancy footwork for today, Iv. Let's just do something you are actually capable of doing."

Ivy glared but nodded in defeat.

….

When the crowd showed up for the show, Ivy stood backstage with the others, with her heartbeat thudding in her throat. The park always put on a show, displaying their best skaters. While Ivy wasn't a member of the park, she had been there so long and so often that the staff considered her to be like family.

"…and to celebrate the day our Great Country formed, let's welcome our first skater!"

The crowd roared as Ivy's nemesis, Bezata, pushed away from Ivy with a smirk. She rolled down the Dip and the crowd roared it's approval.

Ivy ground her teeth in frustration. Bezata was stuck-up, rude, rich, and an incredibly good skater. She and her red long board had won many medals and ribbons, and it was based solely on skill. She'd insisted that her rich mother never interfered. She should be a nice girl, but when Ivy had tried to be her friend, things went sour.

Ben patted her hand, startling her. "Go get 'em, Ivy. Show Dodgers that you're worthy to be here."

Ivy's eyebrow shot up. "So, no pressure?" she joked.

Ben nodded as the announcer called out Ivy's name. "No pressure."

Ivy rolled out, and the crowd went wild. She rolled to the edge of the Dip, looked out at the crowd, and rolled her neck before-

"WAIT! STOP HER!" A women, short with blond hair, picked her way through the crowd.

Ivy and the staff groaned simultaneously. The women was Bezata's mother. Even though Bezata insisted that her mother stay out of her business, she had no issue with her mother badgering Ivy and making her life difficult. The women hated Ivy with a fiery passion. She was convinced that Ivy was holding her daughter back from 'reaching her full potential'.

 _The woman_ glared at Ivy over her red Gucci reading glasses. "If my memory serves me correctly, this girl is not a member of the skate park, and this performance is for members of the park. You understand," she said, leaning close to Ben, "... _good_ skates. Like my little girl."

Ben remained professional, glaring at Ivy, who was turning red from anger. "With all due respect, ma'am, if _my_ memory serves me correctly, this is the park's show, and our owner can decide who he wants in the show or not."

 _No, Ben!_ Ivy mentally screamed. _Dodgers hates me! Don't let him decide!_

Ben realized what he'd said and looked over at Ivy, his brown eyes wide and desperate for forgiveness.

…...…..

Long story short, Ivy spent the rest of the month avoiding the park. Dodgers had thrown her out, furious that she had 'caused a scene', and Bezata's smirk had followed her home, silently taunting.

In vengeance, she had been steadily practicing, but without a proper ramp, Ivy suffered more falls than usual.

Halloween rolled around and found Ivy heading back to the forest. The staff always had matching costumes, and Ivy had no desire to see them.

 _It's not like there's going to be_ _a surprise about the trees tonight,_ she thought. _If it's not a pumpkin or skeleton-creature, I'm calling this whole thing a waste of time._

She headed into the main clearing, expecting the symbol to be somewhere around there.

She stopped short when the noticed that there was a door, in the shape of a pumpkin ( _go figure)_ and it was _open._

Ivy whipped around, eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the trees around her. Had somebody else discovered the doors? Had somebody... _fallen in?_

Hesitantly, Ivy approached the Halloween door. The smell of pumpkins and rotting flesh came from the hole and she gagged. One hand on the tree, the other holding her shirt over her nose, Ivy peered down the hole, which went deeper than should be allowed.

"Hello?" She shouted, straining to hear any response from somebody on the bottom. When only silence came, she tried again. "This isn't _Alice in Wonderland,_ so if you can hear me, answer!"

Again nothing happened. The smell making her eyes water, Ivy stumbled away from the tree, slamming the door shut. As she was mentally planning her next move, the door swung open yet again.

Ivy sat down in shock. Had the wind blown open the door? No...it had opened from the inside.

Ivy chewed her lip and looked around. A primal instinct was telling her to run, to run away from the strange door with a smiling pumpkin. _Duct Tape._ She thought, picking up her skateboard. _I'll duct tape the tree so that the door stays shut._

Ivy gave one last yell down the void. "LAST CALL! OR YOU'RE GETTING SHUT IN!"

This time she swore she heard creepy laughter, but convinced herself it was just other trick-or-treaters.

Ivy turned to go ride and get the tape, but an eerie feeling crept up her spine, and she suddenly had a deep fear of turning her back to the door. An intense desire to close it burned through her. She reached and shut it with her foot, but it swung open again immediately. Ivy chewed her lip, thinking. Then the she shut the door and wedged her skateboard under the knob.

The door shook, but the skateboard held it firmly.

"That's better. Now stay!" She commanded, turning to go. She hadn't gotten more than 10 paces when the smell of rotting pumpkins hit her.

Ivy froze. She hadn't heard her board hit the ground, so...

She turned just in time toss the board slip down the hole.

"NO!" Ivy yelled, racing to the tree. She stuck her head down and watched it fall, barely noticing the smell, or the wind blowing from the hole.

Ivy slammed her fist against the tree. "I did NOT waste a year and a half of my life saving up for that only for it to fall down a TREE!"

And so she made a split decision. Without looking around for others, Ivy took a breath and she dove into the hole.

...…...

Ivy instantly twisted around so that she could see the bottom of the tree, but all she saw was darkness. Desperately she flailed her hands, searching for something, _anything_ , to grab hold of.

All of a sudden something sticky brushed her cheek. Ivy shrieked and slapped herself, wincing as her skin stung. But then another one came, getting her ear. She was falling through something sticky, and only until it hit her face did she realize what it was.

Spider webs. She was falling through enormous spider webs.

Revulsion crawled through her as she clawed the webs out of her face, her hair, her clothes.

Still falling, Ivy became aware that the webs were growing thicker. So much so that she was starting to slow down, bouncing and bending the webs before falling through. The air suddenly took on a strange feel, like how is gets before a storm. It grew colder and colder, but Ivy couldn't get to her jacket around her waist.

Clicking noises, soft at first, came from around her. Red eyes peered from the darkness, and Ivy held her breath as she heard something scatter along the wall.

 _Shouldn't I have hit bottom by now? Surely there's a limit as to how deep a hole can be..._

One web was stronger than most and Ivy stopped, taking deep breaths of the foul air.

Squinting, she stared upwards, but there wasn't the faintest hint of light. It was completely pitch black.

Remembering trick she had learned in Girl Scouts, Ivy put one hand over her eye and counted to fifteen, trying to ignore the sounds that seemed to grow louder every passing moment.

When she removed her hand, Ivy could see shapes moving around her. Then the web lurched and she was falling again.

This time however, the fall seemed shorter. When she stopped on the next web, Ivy noticed that the air seemed...clearer. The smell still hung around, but there seemed to be a breeze whistling through her hair.

Ivy tried to roll out of the web, but her feet were caught. _You've got to be kidding me!_ Ivy thought angrily. _First I lose my board, then I fall down this twisted tree, and now I'm stuck in a spider web? No way!_

Beyond irritated, Ivy yanked in the webs that held her feet. Then the web broke and Ivy screamed as she dangled by her feet.

After a few desperate tries, Ivy groaned and stopped grabbing at her feet.

 _This is insane,_ she thought. _What on Earth is going on right now? I can't even- wait, is that light?_

Ivy flopped around, squinting to see a faint light far off in the distance. As her eyesight adjusted even more, she realized that the dark tunnel she'd been falling down was gone- she was dangling just outside the mouth of it, the ground around 6 feet below her.

Ivy was so focused trying to see better that at first, she didn't notice the slow, cautious spider that hovered by her shoulder. The spider slowly spun the webs tighter and further up Ivy's body.

Ivy took a deep breath to clear her lungs of the tunnel's scent- thank God it wasn't as strong here- but found it was hard to.

She frowned and tried again, only to notice that her chest felt tight and restricted. She wiggled her fingers only to find that they were tightly bound.

 _No way. This is not happening. I just hit my head at the park or something, that's all. There's no way I'm TIED UP WITH-_

Ivy twisted but couldn't finish the thought as she came face-to- face with an enormous spider.

Ivy did what any person would do in that scenario. She screamed (loudly and shrilly, so that the spider winced,) and jerked away from it.

The spider scuttled away, terrified by the noise Ivy had made. His ears were ringing and he was suddenly very glad he wasn't allowed to go to the human world on Halloween.

"Hold up!" Ivy yelled after it. She didn't really want it to come back, but she also didn't want to be left alone in the dark.

The spider only scuttled off faster, leaving Ivy tied and dangling. She huffed and glanced around, shaking as the wind chilled her to the core.

A sudden whistling sound drew her attention upwards. Something small was spiraling towards her, and Ivy stared in horror as she recognized the object.

More clicking sounds surrounded her and red eyes began to glow from the darkened as Ivy had depressing thought. _Isn't that a funny cause of death- eaten by spiders after being knocked out by your own skateboard._

And then: _this is really going to hurt._

And it did. The board struck her head and Ivy immediately fell unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, Everybody! Hope you all liked the last chaper, and this one for that matter. Update days are going to be on Saturdays.**

 **Enjoy!**

Ivy blinked her eyes open and immediately moaned, feeling like a sledgehammer was hitting her skull. She put her hands to her head, unconsciously noticing that her hands were free. Ivy took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

 _Man, that was one hell of a fall. Note to self: don't do the stairs without a helmet again..._

Ivy realized that she was lying on the ground, leaves tangled in her hair. Ivy blinked in confusion.

"That's funny." She mused, staring up at the tunnel. "I don't remember this obstacle in the park."

Ivy's memory was a little hazy, but her skater's instinct told her she'd just hit her head a little hard. It had happened before- a nasty hit just a little bit before...

Ivy snapped out of her haze when she realized she didn't know where her board was. Ivy's neck was stiff and she sat up quickly and instantly regretted it. Her vision blurred and she felt the blood rush to her head.

Ivy was starting to seriously fear that she had a concussion when she noticed something sticky on her arm.

"What the heck.." Ivy plucked the strange white strand and held it up to her face. It almost looked like...

Ivy dropped the strand with a scream as the previous nights' events came rushing back to her. The trees, the tunnel, her board, the spiders- Ivy's head snapped to the left and right, as though daring a spider to show it's face.

A couple strands were still around her legs, but with a little tugging and swearing she was completely free.

Ivy stood, a little shaky, still dizzy from being upside down. She took in her surroundings and swallowed.

"Not a dream then. Oh boy..Gesch!"

'Gesch' was Ivy's board, and it was buried deep within a pile of rotten leaves. The same swamp-like smell rose from the pile as she pulled her skateboard into her lap.

"Man, Gesch, you look like you took even a worse fall than me."

Ivy ran a hand under the board, noticing fresh nicks and scratches. The underside of the board was a swirl of blue and black, with black ivy curled around the edges of the board. She'd designed the board herself, and she couldn't help but feel a connection to it, causing her to name it. Geschwindigkeit was its full name, German for .

Ivy shook her head to clear it and glanced around, tucking Gesch under her arm.

She had though it was morning, but the night was dark as ever. Ivy raised a hand to a cut on her hand-when did she get that?- and saw it was still fresh. So she hadn't been knocked out too long.

The grass she had been laying on was dead- a rotting yellow, now littered with the white strands of the webs. Trees loomed above her, their branches bare and bark black.

A cold wind rustled the dead leaves, causing them to blow past Ivy. A shudder went through her as the sense of foreboding grew.

"I have no clue what to do." Ivy deadpaned, glancing around. Another wind almost blew her off her feet, and the tunnel was high, high above her head.

 _Might as well look around,_ Ivy thought, weaving through the the trees. She heard snaps as critters ( _I hope they're animals)_ moved in the trees around her. Shortly she came to a road, but it looked slightly bumpy. _No time to be picky, Iv._

She was glad to be out of the forest: the air was clear and the full moon (yellow, she noticed,) was hung low in the sky, making her surrounding as clear to her as if it was daylight.

She was in top of a hill, the road spiraling down, going past a pumpkin patch, ( _pumpkin patch?)_ and finally going towards a metal gate.

Ivy's heart leapt at the sight. The thought of somebody else being down here with her was both horrifying and reliving. On one hand, there was something comforting about other humans being here with her. But what if they weren't friendly? What if they were a bunch of lunatics?

 _What if?_ Ivy's mind screamed at her. _You're outside of a forest under a tree after you fell down a hole like Alice and ALSO saw some giant spiders who could possibly be following you, and you're asking if THEY'RE crazy?_

Ivy put her board on the ground, ignoring the uncomfortable thought. She knew she wasn't dreaming-surreal as it all felt. When she was younger, she had hated giving up control of her mind when she went to sleep. So she had learned how to lucid dream, to be able to control them, adding little triggers for when she wanted to wake up. She couldn't be dreaming- her triggers weren't there and she'd already stereotypically pinched herself.

But she couldn't rule out the insanity factor. She didn't _feel_ crazy ( _whatever that means)_ but didn't crazy people never suspect they were crazy?

Ivy pushed off and rolled down the road, the little stones and twigs making the ride bumpy. She kept her eyes all around her- they'd almost completely adjusted to the darkness, but little gleams and dark shadows kept her on edge.

A lone scarecrow hung on its pole, overlooking the patch. Instead of a head, it had a pumpkin on its shoulders, which were slumped.

An odd shiver went down Ivy's spine as she rolled closer to it. It was the same feeling the Halloween door, (that _dumb_ door,) had given her.

"Yeah, and I learned my lesson from that." Ivy muttered. The wind whipped through her hair, covering her eyes and getting in her mouth.

As she spat and clawed to free her eyes, she heard a stick crack.

Although every instinct told her to whip around and confront it, Ivy held perfectly still. The cracking came again- it thought she hadn't heard! Ivy took a calm breath and turned her head to find...

...a pure white rabbit.

Ivy looked at the bunny in shock, then started to laugh. She kicked her board up and turned to face the bunny, turning her back on the scarecrow.

"Man, I'm jumpy tonight! I have good reasons, but I'm sure glad to see you-" here she squatted down- "and not some spider or...I dunno."

Making soft clicking noises, Ivy held her hand out to the rabbit, which suddenly hissed and bared it's teeth at her. Ivy jumped it shook when she noticed the rabbit's teeth.

They were fangs.

The cloud over the moon moved, and Ivy saw that the bunny was not pure white: there was a strange black marking, almost like a cape on it's back. Ivy blinked in horror, remembering a story from fifth grade.

"Bunnicula?" She whispered, hardly believing herself.

The rabbit seemed to grin at her before scampering away into the bushes.

Ivy still sat, completely frozen. She had been terrified when her teacher read the book _Bunnicula_ to her class, so much so that she developed an intense fear of rabbits. A bit of teasing quickly snapped her out of it, but she always looked at rabbits with suspicion for quite a while after.

And now she had _seen_ a vampire bunny?

"This is getting out of control." Ivy muttered, pushing off toward the gate once again, not noticing the scarecrow's head slowly move to watch her leave.

Before long, Ivy reached the intimidating gates. They were old and rusty, with the 'lock' broken in two on the ground. Ivy jumped when she noticed the biggest raven she's ever seen standing atop the gate. The raven's black, beady eyes met her terrified brown ones. The two examined each other, then without warning the raven let out the loudest screech Ivy had ever heard.

Ivy screamed in spite of herself, keeping her hands over her head as she frantically kicked off, trying to skate away from the crazed bird.

 _CAW!_

 _SCREECH!_

A whole swarm appeared behind her, landing on her arms and scraping the tops of her head.

 _This is like some Alfred Hitchcock movie!_ Ivy thought, desperately trying to keep her wits about her. The bird clawed at her, and Ivy had long since squeezed her eyes shut. Her board hit a rock and she fell off, landing on her back and the birds began attacking every inch of her.

Ivy started to tumble down a small hill, but the birds still followed her every movement.

Ivy rolled onto her front, curving her head under her and cupping her hands around her neck, while tucking her knees under her. They did this during tornado drills at her school- Ivy distinctly remembered the school nurse telling them, " _cuts on your hands and back are far easier to fix than cuts on your neck."_

Ivy huddled there, lips pressed together in an attempt to keep from screaming. Then, just a suddenly as the attack started, it stopped.

The birds flew off Ivy in an instant, but Ivy was loath to come out of the fetal position yet. She heard the birds' wings fluttering away, becoming faint, and there were no longer talons digging into her back.

Slowly, shaking silently, raising her eyes to scan her surroundings. Houses were around her, but _houses_ didn't seem to cover it- more like shacks.

 _If I lived in a place that had Bunnicula and killer Ravens, I'd get a dead bolt and never leave home._

Speaking of the birds, Ivy noticed that they hadn't left- not completely. They had roosted on the roofs of the shacks, still staring intently at her. Ivy stood and stared them down, glancing around to see where her board was, and saw torches were lining the streets.

Loud noises were coming from a couple streets over. It sounded like voices, calling each other. Ivy's legs were starting to shake, but her patience was almost gone. She would go and see what on Earth was going on.

Leaving the birds, Ivy followed the noises, finally coming across what appeared to be the center of the 'town'.

Ivy pinched herself harder than she ever had in life when she saw the square.

There were- _things-_ in front of her. Horrid, twisted begins.

Some creature made of gloop was chatting with what appeared to be a wolf, wearing a shirt. A mummy was dancing with a bat-creature, a tree with skeletons hanging from it was watching the scene.

Ivy's heartbeat picked up as her eyes darted back and forth, picking up _impossible_ things.

There was...somebody with an axe on his head, a terrifying creature with it's eyes bulging out of its head.

-a massive spider, same as she had seen in the tunnel...the headless horseman...was that Frankenstein's monster?

Ivy's head swam. She was logical, she didn't believe in the supernatural or old folk lore. But what explanation was there for what was happening.

"I've gone mad." She whispered to herself, the fear almost tearing her apart. Oh God...was that Pennywise the clown from Stephen King's _It?_

Ivy's knees buckled, but she held firmly to consciousness. She would _not_ pass out in a room full of the most terrifying creatures in literature. She would _not._

Given her place directly in front of the activity, with nothing to shield her, it was incredible nobody has spotted her yet. But the Ravens had followed Ivy and croaked out a warning.

Only one small child-an almost Pugsley-looking creature- heard. He turned in confusion to see a human standing and staring at him.

The creature's blood ran cold.

"HUMAN!" He screamed, pointing a stubby finger towards Ivy.

The chatter and talk died down instantly; everybody turning to stare, first at the boy who screamed, then followed his finger to see Ivy.

Ivy didn't register the fact that she'd been spotted until she felt the gaze of every monster on her. All the blood drained out of her face as she made eye contact with several monsters, who had the mix of disgust and horror on her face.

For several tense moments, there was complete silence.

But then one witch let out a terrified scream, which set every one of Ivy's senses into overdrive. To the confusion of the monsters, the human screamed too, then turned on her heel and fled.

The Ravens instantly took off, screeching and screaming. The monsters had never encountered a human outside their own world before; humans were dangerous and no monster trusted them. The children screamed and ran to their parents, who hid them away. The other monsters either took flight or followed the human, determined not to let the enemy get away.

Ivy ran back the way she came, fear and adrenaline making up for her tiredness. She found her board and instantly hopped on, pushing off as fast as she could. She heard the Ravens screaming as they dove after her. She whacked one that landed on her head, wincing as she heard it scream in pain. For an instant, she wished she'd worn a helmet.

A monster with beady blue eyes and spiders crawling in his hair bolted in front of her. Acting on instinct, Ivy kicked her board up and took a swing as the monster. It ducked but she managed to clip it on the side of the head.

Bolting up the hill, Ivy paused at the gate to catch her breath and looked behind her.

A swarm of creatures were descending on her, and the shadow on the moon morphed into a face, leering down at her.

Ivy rode down the hill, trying to plan her next move. Her chest was physically thudding with the force of her heart, and her hands were shaking.

She couldn't go back to the tunnel. She couldn't get back up, back to where she belonged, so where could she go?

The pumpkin patch popped into her head. Maybe she could hide there until something better came to mind.

Ivy jumped off her board and speed walked past the creepy scarecrow, trying to ignore the sense of desperation crushing her.

 _Every boogeyman, every scary monster, anything you've ever been scared of, is out there. You had GOT to keep yourself together._

...

Ivy was huddled under the weird spiral-hill thing, one hand over her mouth. She'd been sitting here for the better part of an hour, though she didn't have her phone to check. You _never_ had your phone while boarding; it spelled nothing but trouble. Well, trouble and lots of money.

The creatures had come through the patch a few times, but Ivy had just kept moving until she'd found the hill. Her heart was still pounding and it was difficult to draw a breath. Ivy just wanted to sleep- her adrenaline had disappeared and her head and arms were hurting like crazy. Her eyes became heavy but she'd snap awake the moment her head hit the back of the hill.

Ivy wearily scanned the perimeter of the patch with her eyes, starting when she noticed the scarecrow again. It had swung around in the breeze and was facing her, the pumpkin on its shoulders grinning eerily at her. Ivy shuddered. The scarecrow had never moved on its own, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was watching her.

Frowning, she made a claw over her heart with three fingers and pushed it towards the scarecrow, like in _Percy Jackson._

 _After all, it's not like this can get any more surreal._

But when Ivy looked back, the scarecrow had disappeared.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Ivy hissed. The monsters seemed to be streaming back to town...maybe the scarecrow was following them? Even so, it'd be better to-

 _Wham!_ Ivy's thoughts were cut short as something latched around her middle. As she instinctively twisted away, something wrapped itself around her head. The smell of hay filled Ivy's nose as her vision was blocked.

 _No freakin' way..._

Ivy didn't need her sight to know that the scarecrow was what had her.

Strangely, although she was struggling, she noticed that it didn't feel like a scarecrow, really. Sure, they was the temporary softness of the hay, but there was something hard and almost...boney under that.

Ivy tried to break free, but suddenly a voice was speaking in her ear.

"Calm yourself, will you? I really don't _want_ to hurt you, but soon you're not going to give me any other choice."

Ivy froze, listening to the English words, and became very glad she was bilingual. Though it sounded muffled, she could tell the voice had an American accent. _Man, I really must have descended into Hell._ She wanted to laugh to herself, but it was getting slightly difficult to breath.

The scarecrow readjusted her so that her arms were pinned under it's own. Ivy half-heartedly pushed at it, trying to convey her need to breath.

"Now what on Earth is this?"

The scarecrow had bent down and was examining something that was beside Ivy. By the sound of it, it was her board.

A primitive fear was rising up in Ivy. She needed to breath- _now._ Spots were in her eyes, big yellow dots. Her limbs began to jerk in a fight or flight reaction. She came very close to passing out, but her stubbornness was keeping her conscious.

The scarecrow looked down at the human in confusion. "I told you I won't do anything. What's gotten into y-"

Suddenly a bursts of pain shot through his hand. The human had bitten him. It had somehow gotten past the hay and straight to his bone.

He hissed and let go her head, freeing Ivy's breathing.

Ivy hacked as air rushed into her lungs. Her vision filled with bubbles and her head was absolutely spinning.

The scarecrow was looking at Ivy, and although she couldn't see it, confusion was on his face. He thought a moment, trying to figure out how to word his question.

"Pardon...what are you doing?"

Ivy regained enough strength to rasp in English, "I'm _breathing,_ man. Give me a second."

The scarecrow was kneeling, with Ivy pulled onto his lap. He was crouched painfully under the spiral hill, where his height was making it difficult for him to see the human. He slowly balled out from under the hill, raising himself to his full height.

Ivy reacted accordingly.

"What the heck, man? Put me down!" Ivy rasped, her throat still burning.

"You have to be living to breath." He told her, trying to understand, but keeping his hold on the human.

"Still alive, dude. _Mein Gott._ I haven't died yet." Ivy glanced down, her breath finally becoming regular now that she had someone to take her anger out on. Although, maybe that wasn't the best idea.

Ivy twisted around to try and see her captor's face. "Who are you, anyway?" Ivy asked, after the scarecrow's silence became awkward.

The scarecrow started and glanced down at Ivy, as though he had forgotten she was there. Then he shook his head and answered, "My name is Jack. Jack Skellington."

Ivy couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at that. "Jack _Skellington?_ Odd name for a scarecrow."

"What? I'm not a... _oh._ Forgive me. I haven't taken my costume off." He raised one hand to his head and took off the pumpkin, reveling...

...a skeleton's head.

Jack blinked his empty sockets a few times, then stared down at his hostage, seeing her clearly for the first time. "Ah, that's better! It was getting a little hard to see in there!"

Ivy was amazed she wasn't screaming. She certainly felt like it: she'd hated skeletons as a kid, but she'd still always thought of them as...well...dead people. The skeletons she'd been scared of were what happened to people after they...decayed. But they'd never, _ever_ spoken or been alive.

Jack glanced down, recognizing the symptoms of fear on her face. Dialated pupils, pale skin, heavy breathing...which reminded him of his original concern.

"Aren't you dead? Why are you breathing?"

Ivy struggled to form a coherent answer. "I-I'm breathing b-because I'm alive." Ivy hated the shaking in her voice. She swallowed and glanced up and the skeleton-Jack- the best she could, anyways. "Should I be dead?"

Jack frowned. "Normally, yes. Living humans have never come here."

 _So wait, have DEAD humans?_ Ivy panicked, wrestling one arm out of Jack's grasp and put it to her neck.

For one horrid moment, she didn't feel anything, then her pulse beat steadily under her trembling finger.

Jack watched, curious. "What are you doing?"

"Checking my pulse. Confirming I'm alive." Ivy answered, breathing a sigh of relief.

Jack set Ivy back on the ground, but kept one hand on her shoulder. He knew he had to keep the human calm-it had bitten him when it was scared earlier! "It occurs to me that I don't know your name."

Ivy blinked, glancing around for her board.

"What? Oh, um...my name's Ivy. Ivy Kunze."

Then the events of the night caught up to her and she jerked away from Jack, whirling to face him properly. "What's going on here, anyway? Where am I?" When Jack didn't rely, she carried on. "What were the... _things..._ in town? I have no intention to die here-"

Jack stiffened, curling boney hands into fists. It was at this moment that Ivy realized exactly how tall Jack was. He had to be at least over 7 feet, towering over her pathetic 5'3 frame.

"Those _things,_ as you so carelessly judged, are my _friends,_ my _subjects,_ the _citizens of Halloween Town."_

"Halloween Town? Wha-"

"This is where we celebrate Halloween year-round, but we also are the ones who run Halloween."

Ivy put her hands to her head, the information threatening to overwhelm her. The something Jack had said stood out to her.

"What, what do you mean _subjects?_ I thought that was a royalty term."

Jack nodded. "It is. I am Halloween Town's leader-the Pumpkin King."

Ivy felt her heartbeat pick up again. She had seen some _terrifying, dangerous_ creatures in Halloween Town. If Jack was the leader of them...

...then how dangerous was he?

Ivy put one foot on her board, desperately wanting to wheel around and never, _ever_ look back.

Jack began to walk down the path, then turned and looked back at Ivy. "Aren't you coming?"

 _Aren't you coming? Is he nuts? After the reaction I got last time?_

"Look." Ivy said, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm sorry if I've done something, but I really just want to get out of here. If you could, I don't know, _point the way out,_ I'll leave."

The skeleton's face darkened. "How did you get here? That's essential. I assume you found Helga's portal?"

"Portal? I don't know-"

"It was in a cornfield this year. We were outside some town near...was it Heathrow?"

"Heathrow, England?" Ivy said faintly.

"Yes! That's the one!"

Ivy shook her head, forgetting her desire to escape temporarily. "I don't know about any portal. I came..." But then something odd happened. She opened her mouth to explain about the trees, but something stopped her. It wasn't a personal decision- it was as if she was physically being prevented from speaking. She tried again, but nothing came out.

"Yeah." She eventually decided. "I didn't see a 'portal', but I guess that's what must have happened." She turned to Jack. "So can I just pop back through the portal?" She'd worry about how to get from Heathrow to Stuttgart later.

Jack looked at Ivy, feeling slightly guilty as he saw the fear on her face.

"The portal has been closed, and we don't have enough power to open it again." He watched as the disbelief crept onto her face. He grimaced as he delivered the blow. "I'm sorry, but you aren't going anywhere for a while. Why do you think Halloween only happens once a year?"

Ivy physically stumbled back, feeling sick. "No no no. This CANNOT be happening! I _cannot be stuck here!"_

Jack looked slightly uncomfortable, but it was nothing compared to the fear racing through her. Oh God, what about her parents? Her brother Anton? Ben, and the other staff members? Visions of police cars in front of her house, of her parents frantic, and of Beezata smirking...

A red mist swam in front of her eyes at the thought of her rival benefiting from her absance.

"You don't understand." She growled. "I _have_ to get back." Then her fear of the town and the _citizens_ in it returned. "Oh, God." She whispered, kicking up her board and hugging it close. "I'm gonna die here."

"Die? How?" Ivy jumped, she had almost forgotten about Jack. The skeleton in question was coming closer, bending down to try and get a closer look at the human.

He was cautious, yes, but also curious. He'd only ever scared humans, he'd never spoken to one. They all knew humans were dangerous when they were scared, but that was why Halloween existed: to show how you can be scared and have a little fun at the same time.

Ivy didn't look like she was having fun.

"I don't want to be killed." She mumbled, holding her board even closer.

"Killed? Who-" and then he understood her fear. "None of the citizens will kill you!"

"They didn't seem to be to happy I was there!" Ivy retorted, all the night's frustration coming out at once. "I've heard of most of those guys, I know they're capable of some pretty _nasty_ stuff. I'm still pretty convinced I'm going crazy, and-" here she gestured to the patch- "if nobody's gonna kill me, what was that _hunt_ that happened a while ago?"

Jack straightened up, cracking his boney fingers in thought. He was getting pretty uncomfortable in his scarecrow get up, and it was to late to really show off his new trick.

Perhaps another year.

He yanked off his scarecrow clothes, revealing his suit underneath. Ivy's jaw hung open; the scarecrow costume had made him seem wider than he was, he almost seemed to grow. He was the thinnest thing she had ever seen, but the kicker was when he _took off his skull_ and shook it, clearing it of hay.

Ivy collapsed into a rock, her tiredness and disbelief threatening to overwhelm her.

"That's better." She heard Jack sigh. "I was going crazy in that getup." He then walked over to where Ivy was sitting. "Listen, I'll guarantee that you'll be safe if you stay here. If you want to remain out here in the patch, I'll make sure nobody comes out here. Or," here he rapped her head to make sure she was listening, "you can come back to town with me."

Ivy's head shot up then. "Are you-"

"They all know a human is in Halloween Town." Jack interrupted. "You might as well see them and help to satisfy their curiosity."

Ivy swallowed, weighing her options. "Curiosity?"

"We don't really interact with humans on Halloween night. We scare them, yes, but we don't talk to them. It'd be interesting to try out some new scaring methods..." Here he drifted into thought. Then he grabbed Ivy's hand and yanked her to her feet. "Trust me, it will be better this way."

"Hold up- I didn't say- WAIT!" Ivy yelled, trying to yank her arm back. But Jack's mind was made up: he'd take this strange human back to Town. Perhaps the Doctor could shed some light on this strange species.

...

 **So Ivy has officially met the members of Halloween Town! Don't forget to review-it fules me, and not only will I respond to you in a PM, but I'll give you a shout-out next chapter!**

 **Cheers, Aria**


	3. Chapter 3

**Morning Guys! (it's morning over here, anyway.)**

 **Just want to thank you guys for the awesome reviews, and to mention that this is** **before** ** _Nightmare before Christmas._**

 **Let's see what Ivy's getting up to, shall we?**

* * *

Ivy woke up the next morning on a metal ramp, with a man in a wheelchair inches from her face.

"Was in aller Welt!" Ivy screamed, instinctively lashing out at the man.

The person caught her arm in one gloved hand, turning it over, his eyes inspecting it. Ivy winced as it bent painfully, her heart still thudding. She glanced around and felt her hopes die when she realized she was still stuck in Halloween Town.

…...

Ivy had given up fighting Jack almost immediately. For somebody with no muscles, Jack's grip was impressively strong. She'd even had to leave her board-still hidden under the Spiral Hill. She made a mental note to get it as soon as she escaped town.

The moon was rising in the sky, and the shadow that had become a face had disappeared. Ivy felt a deep sense of dread as she approached the black gates once again. Jack pushed through the gates with no problem, but Ivy stood frozen for a moment. The same raven from before sat atop the gates, his head tilted at her and his eyes lit in...amusement? Her suspicions were confirmed when the raven began cracking in what sounded like laughter.

"This is not funny." She hissed, giving it her best glare as she was dragged through the gates.

Monsters began to gather in front of Jack, seeking advice from their leader. The moment they saw Ivy, they'd shrink back. Ivy's face fm grew hot with embarrassment as she heard one child ask, "What in the name of Halloween is that?"

It's mother-some cockroach, Ivy noticed with a shudder, -answered. "It's a human, little terror. The ones I go to scare every Halloween."

The monster looked at Ivy with a mix of fear and awe.

Jack stepped up onto a large fountain and overlooked the crowd, finally letting Ivy's arm go.

Ivy was torn between her natural instinct to get away, and her sense telling her to stay close to Jack. Reluctantly, she stayed within Jack's reach.

While Jack explained the basics to the monsters, Ivy was frantically looking around for an escape route. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she slowly turned her head. A monster with glowing red eyes, sharp teeth, and a strange come-like spike on its head was grinning at her. Ivy felt a shudder go through her when she noticed it's claws, which the monster was flexing in and out. It saw she had noticed it and ran a purple tongue over it's teeth.

"Boo!" It suddenly said, raising its claws to her face in one swift motion.

When Ivy didn't scream, the creature frowned and poked her forehead. "Aww, that's no fun. It's not scared!"

But Ivy was scared. It was a strange type of horror, one that froze you in place. Her muscles were locked and her mouth was dry. The monster rolled it's eyes and melted back into the crowd.

A buzzing took over in the base of her skull, almost blocking out Jack's words.

She still wasn't completely sure what he has said to them- but she did snap out of her haze when the Pugsley thing that first spotted her said, in a loud voice, "so it's going to stay here?"

Ivy felt the bizarre need to defend herself. The monster's' gazes pierced her, as though she were the one on display. They had the same look of people at the zoo: a curiosity, but a relief they were behind bars. (Am I going to be locked up? Oh God, what's going to happen to me?)

The townspeople were evidently wondering the same thing.

"The human will be staying for a period of time- it's not as though it can be returned to where it came from." Jack was explaining, glancing at Ivy with a hint of exasperation.

"Where will you put it, Jack? I don't want it near my children, it could hurt them." A 'mother' was standing near Jack. It was a she-wolf who pulled her pups close, glaring at Ivy.

Ivy hadn't given too much thought to where she would stay. She had wild visions of running away to the pumpkin patch, or even to the forest, but a fear of the unknown kept her near Jack. It wasn't as though this was turning out any better, though.

Looking at the mother again, Ivy felt tears prick her eyes. She wasn't dangerous! She wanted to explain to them that it was a accident, that she didn't want to be here either, that she wasn't an it, but a girl. Ivy cleared her throat, then her voice came out in a soft croak. "I...I'm sorry for the confusion, but I really just want to go..." The request died when she saw that nobody, nobody, was listening. A few monsters had started at the sound of her voice, but had gone straight back into staring at Jack. Ivy remembered the way Jack hadn't listened to her in the patch and felt a new wave of horror. Was anybody going to listen to her?

Jack tapped his skull thoughtfully, oblivious to the mental breakdown of the human next to him.

"The Doctor. That will be good for her. Perhaps he can study her, learn how humans work." Sensing the hesitant atmosphere, Jack added, "also, it's a human to practice scares on. We'll be terrifying next Halloween."

"Hold on just a sec-" Ivy's protests were lost in a crowd of excited murmurings. "Jack, I don't want to be an experiment-" but Jack was already striding away, motioning one hand for her to follow. Reluctant to stay near the townspeople, her theory of being ignored confirmed, Ivy had hesitantly followed.

Ivy wasn't too impressed with the 'Doctor'. He looked almost human- ignoring the fact that his skull was metal and his wheelchair rolled faster than should be allowed.

Ivy had watched with a sinking feeling as Jack left her after giving a brief explanation to the Doctor.

"-unable to return...some experiments...new scares..."

The man had then shown Jack the door and rolled his chair over to Ivy. He cocked his head, then began speaking aloud to himself.

"Hmm...one new human. Appears to be female-" here Ivy had started and glanced at herself, crossing her arms over her chest just to be safe.

The Doctor, oblivious, continued speaking.

"Suspicious markings on left arm, accompanied by dried blood. Possible purpose?"

Ivy twisted her arm and glanced at her elbow. She'd sighed with relief when she saw what the Doctor was talking about. "That's old, it's just a scab I got when I fell at the park-"

The Doctor started and rolled his chair back a few paces, then came almost hesitantly closer.

"It can speak?" He mused.

Anger flared in Ivy. She'd had enough of this 'it' business. "Yes, I can speak. I can also hear, and understand what you're saying."

"Fascinating. I've never encountered this..." The man had then glanced over her and nodded. "I'll begin a true investigation in the morning. It's been a very long day for me, human. I cannot worry about having you leave tonight."

Ivy made no response.

"Therefor, I've taken the liberty of concocting this. Wicked dreams-hmm, do humans dream? Must try something to test that..." He'd taken out a syringe and before Ivy could react, she'd felt a sharp pinch in her arm. Ivy only had time to give the Doctor a withering look before falling unconscious once again.

...

The following morning...

"Watch it!" She snapped as her arm bent painfully. "I do not want to have a broken arm on top of everything else!"

The Doctor, to her shock, had popped his skull open, (Ivy took a deep breath to hold in her scream,) and scratched his brain. Ivy's stomach did a slow roll as her appetite fled. Not that she was too eager to eat here, anyway.

Ivy wrenched her arm away and stood, brushing off her bomber jacket, which still had leaves and bits of spider's web stuck to it. Visions of a warm shower swam her her head. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like she'd get one.

The Doctor huffed with exasperation, rolling his chair back and forth. "I suppose I must give a formal apology. The serem I gave to you was stronger than one should need. Granted, I don't know how long humans sleep..."

Ivy rolled her neck painfully. "How long was I out, anyway?"

The Doctor frowned. "'Out?'" He asked, sounding disgusted.

"Asleep." She clarified, glancing around the front 'hall.' It was just a circular room, with the ramp winding up and around the tower- for that, Ivy could see, was what the 'house' was. An iron tower. She gazes longingly at the door, only to be brought back out her thoughts by the Doctor's response.

"I'd estimate around... 5 hours."

The number took a toll on her body. She desperately wanted more, but her brain wouldn't let her sleep. There were too many dangers.

"How long do you sleep?" She asked, remembering his comment on 'too much sleep.'

He snorted, almost seeming amused. "I sleep around 2 hours, but the average citizen, I've calculated, sleeps more- 3 or 4 hours, even. Far more than they need."

Ivy's jaw dropped. 3 or 4 hours? Ivy was generally a very grumpy gal if she didn't get her 9 hours. She was doomed.

The Doctor clapped his hands together. "Again, intelligent thought. Very interesting. Come along, human. I promised Jack I'd find out how you work, and I will."

He rolled away, clearly expecting Ivy to follow. But Ivy stubbornly stayed put. She didn't like the sound of that- how you work.

"Absolutely not!" She yelled. It got quite a reaction- the Doctor swiveled his chair around, staring at Ivy before gunning it to pull up in front of her. "Why in the name of Halloween not?" He asked, spit flying into Ivy's face.

Ivy held her ground. "I am an unwilling visitor, Doctor." She hissed, glaring into his spectacles. "I didn't ask to come here, and I don't want to be subjected to experiments or torment!"

The Doctor blinked and then let out a series of short, sharp laughs. "Torment? What do you think we are?"

Monsters, was Ivy's immediate thought, though she suspected he wouldn't be insulted.

The Doctor pushed her in front of him and drove his chair down the hall. Ivy, confused into obedience, followed.

She was supposed when he gestured for her to take a seat in a chair by the door of his 'laboratory'. Hesitant, she sat and smoothed her jeans.

The Doctor grabbed a smooth, gray rectangular object and pushed a button in the side. Then he began to speak, but it wasn't to himself or to Ivy.

"This is Doctor Finklestein here-" oh thank God, a real name for me to use- "-and I have recently come into the ownership of a human, the first one to be seem in Halloween Town in over 3 centuries-"

"Ownership?" Ivy blurted out, her mind tossing around the thought of what had happened to the humans 300 years before.

Finkelstein glared at Ivy. "Ah...that was the human. It appears to be female, and a young one." He pushed the object, which Ivy had guessed was a recording device, and gave Ivy instructions. "Now, please speak into the recorder about yourself. Age, height, biological makeup-anything." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he restrained himself.

Ivy stared distrustfully at the device, her mind blank. She doubted they actually wanted to hear about her-so what should she say? The first human in 300 years. Make it count.

Deciding to get something important out of the way, Ivy cleared her throat and addressed the machine.

"It's not my fault I'm here. I am a human, yes, but I...I'm capable of intelligent thought. I'm not stupid, I'm not an it." She decided. Finkelstein glared, but didn't stop her. "I am a girl, yeah, but I wouldn't call me too young. I'm 15 years old."

Finkelstein laughed. "An infant. Monsters here are as old as 1,000 years."

Ivy nodded to Finklestein. "I'll give you that one." Then she stared blankly at the device. "Umm...I'm not sure what else to say."

"Why did you choose to attack Randel?" Finkelstein asked.

"Who?" Ivy asked, confused. Finkelstein smiled eerily and called, "Randel! I need to speak with you!"

Ivy turned to the door to see a monster crawl through the door. His fingers were snakes and his head was covered in bandages. Ivy frowned, trying to place it.

"How's your head, Randel?" Finkelstein asked mockingly. "Does it still hurt where you were assaulted by the human?"

"Assaulted? What are you-oh." Ivy instantly realized where she'd seen it before. It was the monster she'd whacked with her skateboard on her mad dash from Halloween Town. "Oh God, sorry." She apologized, facing...Randel. "I just got...scared." She mumbled, feeling ashamed of her reaction.

Randel sighed and glanced over her. "That's what I figured." He said, in a scratchy voice that didn't match his blank facial expression. "I've heard about how humans hurt people when they're scared."

Ivy blinked, wondering if she'd just been insulted.

Finkelstein groaned in annoyance. "Randel! You're supposed to scare it, not feel sorry for it!"

"Sorry, Doctor." Randel apologized. "Just said what I thought."

"Numbskull." Finkelstein muttered. Perhaps sensing the awkward tension in the room, Randel shuffled his feet and said, "Helga and Gretchen are in the foyer, Doctor. They said you asked for them?"

Ivy's heart suddenly jumped. "Helga...isn't that the one who opened the portal last night?"

Randel nodded at her, a little surprised at her outburst. "That's her. Guess you can tell her all about falling in the portal, huh?"

Yeah, or I can ask her to give me an easy out. There's gotta be a way to get me home. But she'd didn't say it.

A lady with a traditional crooked black hat, scraggly hair, a long nose and green skin came through the door. Another witch followed, looking identical except that her skin was lavender.

The lavender one made a beeline to Ivy, leaning in so close to Ivy's face that Ivy winced and leaned back. The witch frowned. "How did you get through the portal? I didn't see you come through either side!"

"Helga!" The green one scolded, coming up and pulling back on Helga's shoulder. Helga protested. "We need to find the weak point, Gretchen! I need-"

Gretchen interrupted Helga, after giving Ivy a concerned glance. "At least introduce yourself first!"

"Fine." Helga snapped. "I'm Helga, she's Gretchen. We're the witches whose portal you snuck through last night!" Helga grabbed Ivy's shoulders and shook her, causing Ivy's beanie to slip down in front of her eyes. "Tell us what you know, human!"

"Helga!" There was Gretchen again, screeching and swinging her broom to knock Helga away from Ivy. The human in question sat frozen, the way you would if a scorpion were perched on your leg. Gretchen left Helga moaning on the floor, stepping closer to Ivy and fixing the girl's strange hat.

"What Helga means," she said, forcing herself to soften her voice to she wouldn't frighten the human, "is we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. Can you tell us what exactly happened?"

Finally. Somebody willing to hear what happened. Even if that somebody is is broom-waving witch. Ignoring Helga, who was glaring up and her from the floor, Ivy opened her mouth to try and explain about the doors, but then the mysterious force from last night stopped her from speaking. Fine. Have it your way.

"I don't see any portal." She explained, trying to think of a loophole to her weird problem. "I wasn't even in Heathrow! But I just took a wrong step and fell... somewhere." She'd almost said, 'down a tree', but the pressure had shifted to her chest and she couldn't breath for a moment.

"And now you can't get back." Gretchen said sympathetically. She glared at Helga. "You're job is simple, Helga! Protect the human world's side of the portal!"

"Well why didn't you see her come in?" Helga screeched, finally taking her eyes off Ivy.

While the two argued, Ivy cast a glance to Randel. "Are they alway like this?" She whispered. Randel jumped a bit, then hesitantly answered. "Well...yes. Most of the time."

"Look, I'm really am sorry about hitting you." Ivy apologized again. "It was pretty stupid of me."

Randel shook his head. "I wasn't used to seeing humans like we saw you last night. I was scared too. It was...strange." He paused, shaking a stray spider from his hair. "It's strange now! I've never spoken to a human before, and now..." He looked embarrassed.

"If it makes you feel better, I've never spoken to a...Halloween Town citizen before." Ivy said, trying to avoid the word 'monster.'

Their conversation was broken by Gretchen, who came and gently grabbed Ivy's chin, turning her head back and forth. "Oh dear...did you get those scratches from Edgar and his friends?"

"What?" Ivy reached a hand up to feel her face. To her shock, she felt raised lines running from her ear across her cheek. The moment she noticed them, a stinging feeling went through her face. "Is Edgar that raven dude by the gate?

Out of the corner of her eye, Ivy saw Helga mouth raven dude? to Randel, who shrugged.

Gretchen only blinked a moment, then nodded. "Edgar's job is to protect the gate. He saw you as a

"They did." Ivy admitted, remembering the how Ravens flew off her.

"Helga, Gretchen, you have what you wanted. She must have found a spare portal, one that wasn't guarded. Can you please leave so that I may properly examine the human!" Finkelstein roared, his patience coming to an end. Randel bolted from the room, and Helga merely huffed and stalked towards the door. But Gretchen remained behind after turning and seeing the fear in Ivy's eyes.

"Doctor," she began, unsure how to phrase her concern correctly. "May I stay? I'm still curious about how she got in, and Helga's too upset to think straight."

Finkelstein looked like he would explode- his mouth was open and he gripped the sides of his wheelchair- but one glance from Gretchen had him pressing his lips together and turning away, waving with one hand for her to go ahead.

Gretchen, pleased by her victory, gazed at the human who still sat poised on the chair, her terrified brown eyes circling the room.

With her beady eyes, Gretchen took in the girl's torn skirt and leggings, the nasty bruise on her head, and the scratches on her face. No wonder she thought they were going to hurt her.

She really hadn't thought of her as a girl before- just another human, the ones she made scream every Halloween. But there was something that made her feel sorry for the girl. Maybe if I'd noticed you, you wouldn't be in this mess.

Gretchen walked closer to Ivy and snapped her fingers, causing Ivy to flinch and her broom handle to expand and hover expectantly in mid air. Gretchen hopped on the broom and hovered until she was eye-to-eye with Ivy. The girl flinched a bit, then had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Now dear, why don't you tell me your name?" Gretchen started.

Ivy blinked in astonishment. There was something so wonderful about how she'd asked for her name, and hadn't just called her human or it.

Ivy licked her lips and responded. "My name's Ivy. Ivy Kunze."

A name to the face, Gretchen thought. Sensing that the girl- Ivy- was still on edge, she gently reached out and picked up a strand of Ivy's hair. "Is this common, for humans to be born with blue stripes in their hair?"

Ivy laughed a little, in spite of herself. "No, I wasn't born with it. I colored it, 'cause I thought just black hair was a little boring."

Gretchen nodded and prodded Ivy's hat. "And this?"

"That's a beanie." Ivy explained, taking the mustard-colored hat off. "I'm amazed it stayed on after last night..."

Gretchen cut her off. "You'll have to let me try the...what is it called, the device you were riding last night?"

"My skateboard?"

"Yes- it looks slower than a broom, but fun nevertheless."

Ivy laughed, then sobered up when she remembered. "My board is still in the pumpkin patch, near that weird hill."

Gretchen shrugged. "No difference. It'll find its way here." She recalled Ivy saying she wasn't in Heathrow. "Where are you from, Ivy?"

Ivy shuddered to hear her name used here. It sounded strange- welcoming and unnatural at the same time. "I'm from Stuttgart- Stuttgart, Germany."

Gretchen frowned and thought way back, trying to remember the language. "Sprechen sie Deutch?" She asked.

Ivy's eyes flashed. "Ich bin Deutch. Ich spreche beide."

Gretchen switched back to English. "Many Halloween traditions and legends come from Germany-I must admit we're a bit fond of them. It's interesting that you're fluent in both."

Ivy shrugged, crossing her arms and legs. "My dad's American, my mom's German. I was raised to be bilingual."

A silence passed between them.

"Look, I really don't want be any trouble, and I really don't want to be stuck here!" Ivy burst out, unable to hold it back for another second. "Is there any way to get me back? Another portal? A spell? Some sort of magic door? Anything?"

"I'm sorry." Gretchen replied, hopping off her broom. "I will look for a way, but there isn't one at the moment. Don't worry." Here she pointed a gnarled finger at Ivy. "There's only 365 days until Halloween, when the next portal is available."

Ivy slumped in her seat in defeat.

...

That night, Ivy peered out at the town through the bars on 'her' window. The monsters had some sort of party in the town that night, a continuation of the one she had...interrupted the night before. Even Finkelstein had gone, but only after locking Ivy in the room she was trapped in now.

Finkelstein had eventually forced Gretchen to leave, but not before she's given stern instructions to the Doctor about treating 'Halloween Town's guest' properly. Ivy was grateful for Gretchen's input, even if it didn't do anything. Thankfully, he'd only asked her a few questions of humans 'biological make-up', most of which she could answer thanks to her biology class.

Ivy eyed the bars, noting that she was small enough to slip through them. The trick was to somehow get to the ground without breaking every bone in her body.

She glanced for a moment at her bomber jacket, which was flung on a cot that was tucked away in the corner. If only it was long enough to shorten her fall!

Ivy let her head hit the bars, listening to the music that drifted from the town. It was haunting -there were sounds that drove shivers up her spine. Ivy turned violently away from window and covered her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. Images of her family came to mind, but she tried to ignore them. Only her little brother, Anton, remained. Play with me, Ivy! He'd said constantly. Show me how to do tricks on your board! Pretty pretty please!

She'd always tried to be with him, but she was human- she'd snapped at him to leave her alone, that she couldn't play, she was busy.

She wished she'd been a little nicer.

She uncovered her ears and turned back to the window, watching the yellow moon slowly rise in the sky and feeling a sense of déjà vu. 24 hours since I fell down the hole. 24 hours since I've descended into Hell.

The face on the moon appeared, grinning at Ivy. Wind whistled through the window- why the heck isn't there glass? I'm going to freeze in here!- causing Ivy to shudder.

Suddenly a voice echoed around the room. It was soft and chilling, like it was being carried by the wind. "Hello, human..."

Ivy stiffened but didn't answer.

"Come now, come now, little human. Tell us how you've found Halloween Town so far..."

Ivy bit her lip. "I'm finding that a good lesson in manners could be had here." She glared around her room, daring the voice to reply.

And reply it did. "I think that could go both ways, Miss Ivy."

Forgetting her silence, Ivy lept up in rage. "All right, who are you? How do you know my name?"

"I am the wind, Miss Ivy. The wind sees all. I saw you last night near the hollow...you gave the spiders quite a fright!"

"I gave them a fright? They scared me!" Ivy protested, realizing in a horrid rush that she was going insane, she had to be, she was talking to the wind-

"That's how it works in Halloween Town, Miss Ivy. You are scared of us, they are scared of you. It's going to be a very long year unless you meet us halfway."

"I'm not going to be here a year." Ivy said, her tone dark.

The wind...died. There was perfect silence for a moment.

"There is a chance you might survive a leap from the window, Ivy." The wind cut in, breaking the silence. "It would be extremely painful, but it might not get the job done."

"Might not get the job done? What do yo-" Ivy halted, suddenly having a sinking suspicion of what the wind meant. "God, I'm not going to commit suicide! That's crazy! How's that supposed to help?" A new thought came to Ivy's mind. She eyed the bars. "Unless...is that how you leave? Is that how I can get out of this place?"

The wind was silent.

Ivy rushed to the window, intent on getting another look at the distance to the ground- but then the wind came back with a sudden roar.

Ivy screamed a bit as she was swept off her feet and thrown across the room. When she tried to get back up, the wind pushed down on her and refused to let her up.

"What the heck, dude! Let me go!" Ivy twisted madly, but it was like the stories her father had told her about being in a tornado.

"It was a mere speculation, and entirely on your part, Miss Ivy." The wind's voice was roaring in her ears, so loud she was amazed the townspeople couldn't hear it. "I was trying to warn you of the consequences of trying such a foolish idea. I do not know if that would work, but not only do I highly doubt it, I do not believe you should put your life on such a flimsy notion. You are not yet dead like the rest of them."

Ivy, reluctantly, saw the wind's point. It was a really stupid idea- dead was dead, right?- and she could never bring herself to do it. She's always thought that falling would be one of the worst ways to go- another reason she had been so scared last night.

"Ok." She said, her voice shaky. "I promise I won't do it. Like you said, it's stupid."

The wind's pressure left her and Ivy was free to sit up. One hand went self-concisely to her hair, where she felt enormous tangles. "Gee, thanks for that."

When the wind made no reply, Ivy shakily got to her feet and wobbled over to the widow, only to get another push from the wind- much gentler this time, thank God, and her feet stayed on the ground.

"Forgive me if I don't completely believe you, Miss Ivy. I suggest you simply go to sleep now- you can look over town in the morning."

Ivy was tired, but she was still hesitant to fall asleep here. Who knew what could get to her? But all the same, Ivy crawled to the cot and curled up under her jacket. The breeze changed to almost a warm one, and Ivy fell asleep.

The wind blew around Ivy's hair one more time, ensuring that the human was asleep. It knew it could be here in seconds of she decided to take another little trip to the window.

The wind flitted over the pumpkin patch, the woods where Miss Ivy had come falling out of that strange hole, and finally back to town.

Along the way, the wind saw three figures hiding in the bushes near Finkelstein's tower. If the wind had a face, it would have frowned. Instead the three felt a freezing, bitter cold against their backs. With little yells, the figures scampered away, past the pumpkin patch and finally disappearing into the forest line. The wind only moved faster to town.

The festivities were finally dying down, with the littlest monsters long gone and the adults starting to peel off. The wind slipped among them and located Jack.

The wind respected Jack, as they all did, but the wind couldn't help but think that Jack ignored it and the other non-monsters. Didn't Jack, a master scarer, realized that atmosphere was just as important as the scare itself? A human was more frightened if he heard the whistling of the wind, or felt the wind's cold fingers on his neck. If the human saw a shadow on the moon watching him, he'd be scaring himself, and the monsters job was be easier!

The wind ignored these complaints as it hovered around Jack's head. Most of the monsters had a hard time hearing the wind, which was another reason the wind liked Miss Ivy a bit. It was nice to be spoken to- even if it was with anger.

The wind spent several minutes getting Jack's attention, but when Jack finally noticed the wind, he apologized and walked further away from the monsters to hear the wind better.

"What can I do for you tonight?" Jack asked, staring at the sky because he was never sure where to look when speaking to the wind.

"I've just been to see Miss Ivy, your highness-"

"Who?" Jack stares blankly.

"The human, sir. She did tell you her name."

"The huma- oh, of course. And how is our guest?"

"A bit confused, sir, as you can understand. She's naturally worried." The wind explained, trying to make it sound like nothing.

"Worried? Why in the name of Halloween-"

"Ask her yourself, majesty. You're the one who brought her to Halloweentown. In other matters, however, there is a small problem. I saw Lock, Shock, and Barrel near Finkelstein's lab. You know those three- I highly doubt that they mean to wish Ivy well."

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel are not a threat." Jack dismissed, waving his hand around. "They're only children- oh yes, they play little tricks, but they've never done any harm."

"Majesty, I- among others- have seen them near Boogie's place-"

Jack whirled around, glaring at the air in as many directions as he could. "None of the monsters have seen anything. Edgar had seen nothing. The spiders, who live near Boogie, have not said anything."

"That's because they cannot speak, sir. If I may-"

"No, Wind. I will not allow the others to be frightened by some nonsense about Oogie Boogie and the trick-or-treaters. As for the human, well, it'll be fine. There is not a threat in Halloween Town."

Jack stalked away, and the wind abandoned the town. Jack was only 256 years dead-not like him and the other non-monsters, especially him, who was immortal and old as the Earth itself. Jack didn't remember the other humans, he'd only heard rumors. He was also too young to realize the need to just listen to-

The wind ended up back outside Ivy's room-prison, really,- and saw she was still sound asleep. The wind rolled her onto her side- it had to be uncomfortable to sleep with your legs raised against the walls. Ivy muttered something along the lines of you do a 360, Beez, and I'll grind you into the Dip...put down the olives, Ben, you know what it does to you...

With that, the wind spent the night patrolling the base of the tower. Just because the king was being negligent didn't mean the wind had to be, as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**OK, OK, it's Sunday, not Saturday, I know. Bad Author slept for like 12 hours yesterday.**

 **Anyway, huge shout outs to Mizuki6655, KittyKatFrenzie, Annonomous guest Cheese, and especially Corona Pax for the awesome reviews.**

 **Let's see what's happening in Halloween Town...**

* * *

Bored and terrified didn't make a good combination. One might argue it was almost impossible to feel this way, but for Ivy, it was a new reality.

Ivy lay awake the second morning there in Halloween Town, trying to ignore the countdown clock in her head. The symbols- the _doors,_ she knew now,-always disappeared as soon as the festive spirit did. And she might be too late to get back to the door.

But how on Earth could she get out of Halloween Town?

Feeling wind going through her hair, she decided to ask. "Mornin' Wind!" She said, rubbing her face and sitting up. The air was cold, so Ivy pulled her bomber jacket on and rubbed her legs, trying to get some blood flowing.

The air stilled for a moment, then the wind responded. " _What can I do for you, Miss Ivy?"_

Ivy's shoulders slumped. "I can't just say hi?" She tried.

" _I highly doubt that you've gotten over your primal fear of us just because we had a little chat last night."_

"It did help, though." Ivy grumbled, not realizing until then how true it was. How sad was it that the only one she felt slightly comfortable talking to was the freakin' _wind?_

"Have you seen my board, Wind? It's driving me nuts not knowing where it is." Ivy pulled her boots on, wishing that the air was a little warmer.

When the wind didn't respond, Ivy flipped her hair over her shoulder and stared curiously around the room. The wind was still there, she knew that. It was evident by the way the ( _dead)_ trees were swaying outside, and the way her hair still floated around her head. "Wind? You there?" She called, hating the feeling of abandonment.

"Wind?"

" _Pardon me, Miss Ivy."_ The voice returned, and Ivy let out a sigh of relief. " _I was merely speaking with Jack."_

"Jack? Jack Skellington? How?" Ivy rushed to the window. When she didn't see Jack, she frowned in confusion. "Is he here?"

" _No, Miss Ivy. He is still at his manor in town."_

"But you were just here, talking to me! How can you talk to Jack and me?"

" _...the wind goes many places, Miss Ivy. He merely wished to know if you and Doctor Finkelstein were coming into town today to pick up something from the witches."_

Ivy huffed, staring at the locked door that was trapping her. "Finkelstein, yes. Me? Probably not."

" _Don't jump to conclusions, Miss Ivy. He is not a healthy man- he might need you to help him carry his things."_

"Manual servant labor. Brilliant."

Their conversation was interrupted by a raven flying by Ivy's window, squawking angrily. Ivy, still remembering the raven attack the other night, instinctively dove to the floor and covered her face. The raven did the same odd laughing that Edgar-( _that's the raven dudes name, right?)-_ had. After a few moments, Ivy uncurled herself and squared her shoulders in anger.

"Not a word, wind."

" _Wouldn't dream of it, Miss Ivy."_

….

As it turned out, the wind was right. Finkelstein had come rolling up to Ivy's prison, loudly announcing his need for a helper. Ivy rolled her eyes and stood at the door, taking deep breaths. So long as he didn't pop his brain out again, she thought she could handle the Doctor.

Finkelstein opened the door and held a warning finger up a Ivy. "I must warn you, there will be no disobedience in town. These packages are _very_ important- more than I think your primitive mind can handle."

Ivy clenched her jaw so tight she heard it pop.

 _Primitive mind, huh?_

The doctor continued, oblivious to the anger on Ivy's face. "I will give you instructions, and I expect them to be obeyed to the letter. Is that clear?"

Ivy was suddenly reminded of Dodgers, when he used to be her skating mentor. . _I'm trying to help you, Ivy! I'm giving you orders, I want them obeyed! As best as you can! How else are you going to be a great skater? Look at how Beezata-_

Ivy shook off the memory and stared at Finkelstein, resolving to behave herself. "It's clear, sir." She added, trying to be respectful despite her anger.

The doctor gave her a once over, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Then he nodded and steered himself away, once more silently obeying Ivy to follow.

Ivy clutched her fists again, then the wind's voice said softly. _"Careful, Miss Ivy. Don't let him get to you."_

Ivy straightened up and followed the Doctor into town.

Angus, a small bat-like child, held a long stake in one hand. He closed one eye and fixed the other on his best friend, Rosie. The female witch stood still against a wall, her eyes peering through her bangs at Angus.

"Come on, Angus, I haven't got all day. Helga and Gretchen want me back soon."

"Don't rush me." Angus snapped. He took a final glance at Rosie and hurled the stake.

The stake made a _twong!_ sound as if hit the wall next to Rosie's ear.

"You missed me!" She cried triumphantly. "I _knew_ you couldn't hit a single target!"

"I can too!" Angus argued. "You used some sort of mind spell on me-"

"Oh don't be ridiculous, Angus, I was standing perfectly still and you missed me completely!"

The children's argument was brought to a halt as Vinnie, a young mummy, came running up. Angus and Rosie let out a small groan; Vinnie was not popular among the older children. She was always tripping over her bandages and ruining the best of scares.

"What do you want, Vinnie?" Angus asked in a bored tone.

Vinnie reached down to run her legs, which were starting to ache from her run. "You guys have _got_ to see something!" She squealed, brushing some dangling bandages from her eyes.

Rosie rolled her eyes, walking over and pulling the stake out of the wall. "We don't need to see another cat battle or leaf pattern, Vinnie. Some of us have important things to do."

It was on the tip of Vinnie's tongue to ask, _like throwing stakes at each other?_ But her fear of the older children and her exciting news pushed the thought away.

"Doctor Finkelstein is coming into town!" Vinnie shrieked, hopping up and down.

For a moment, Rosie and Angus were perfectly silent, then they burst into peals of laughter. "That's fascination, Vinnie, why don't you go tell King Jack that? Doctor Finkelstein is coming, get ready!" Rosie cried, waving her hands around.

Vinnie pouted and crossed her arms. "That's not the good part!"

"Oh really? What, does he have a little creature with him?" Angus taunted, grabbing Rosie's arm. "Let's go, Rose."

" _Listen to me!"_ Vinnie yelled, her shrill voice catching the attention of a few other monsters. "He's got the human with him!"

Angus and Rosie's laughter died down at once, they both slowly turned and stared at each other, having a silent conversation. Then they both rushed to Vinnie and knelt at her level.

"Are you sure, Vinnie?" Angus asked, hardly daring to believe the mummy's words.

Vinnie nodded. "The funny-looking monster that came to town the other day. She's with the Doctor right now!" Vinnie squirmed, she'd delivered her news and wanted to get back to the scene.

Angus and Rosie stared at each other. They'd heard the story, of course- a human had come through Helga's portal and was stuck here until next Halloween. Every child was desperate to see the human, considering none of them were allowed to go the the human world until they were 218.

Angus' mother worked as a spotter- a bat hybrid who patrolled the skies on Halloween, following potential victims and leading other monsters to them. She'd told Angus again and again how odd the humans were- they were still living and breathing, and they always wore costumes to celebrate Halloween, which Angus thought was a bit strange. Were humans just so... _Un-scary_ that they needed a costume to look scary?

Rosie turned to Vinnie, her own mind swirling about the human. "Show us, Vinnie." She ordered, knowing the mummy girl loved to show off. Sure enough, Vinnie gave a squeak of excitement and darted into the main road, heading towards Rosie's house- the witches' place.

A small crowd had gathered outside, but not too close. Rosie and Angus, followed by an anxious Vinnie, impatiently pushed through. Rose stopped short when she saw the human on her doorstep.

The human stood behind the Doctor, peering at the citizens through her long dark hair. Rosie thought she didn't look particularly scary- after all, she wasn't wearing a costume. Although her pants did have a few different colored paint marks on them...

Helga stood in the door and handed a long, thin package to the human, who awkwardly arranged it under her arms. Her face flushed a strange color as she again turned her eyes towards the crowd.

Rosie was fascinated. The human didn't have a single claw, no sharp teeth, no blood splatters. She had all her limbs and nothing extra- no wings or extra heads. It was so...plain.

Angus' elbow in her side interrupted her thoughts. "Helga and Gretchen visited the Doctor yesterday." He hissed, the crowd's muttering covering up his own. "What did they say?"

Rosie bit her lip and fiddled with her robe. "They were split down the middle. Helga hates the girl- it's a girl, by the way,- and wants her gone, but Gretchen was...different. I think she feels sorry for her. She came and told me that the human was really scared of us."

Angus frowned. "Scared? Of us? Why? We haven't done a single scare on her!"

Rosie shrugged. "Beats me. I asked the same things, and Gretchen just told me I'd understand later."

"I hate when adults say that. We'll be able to go the the human world in 10 years! Surely we can start learning about humans!"

"All that matters is if we scare them or not."

"But if they're always scared, then do we even do anything to them?"

"You're making my head hurt, Angus. Humans are weird, but I don't know much. Maybe we could-"

"Rosie! Come here and help us!" Gretchen had arrived from the basement. The green witch turned her icy glare to the crowd. "Can I help you all with something?" She asked coldly. The citizens knew that was code for _stop staring and get out of my sight._ As so most shuffled away, throwing Ivy a few more curious glances.

Rosie stood frozen, one hand clutching Angus'. If she'd had a heart, it'd be beating extra fast now. Rosie had mainly been putting on airs for Angus-she was a little scared in the human, and didn't want to go any closer to her. As if guessing her thoughts, Angus gave her hand a small squeeze and gently pushed her forward.

Gretchen's eyes narrowed as the young apprentice slowly came forward, her movements stiff and rigid. Refusing to look at the human, Rosie bent her head to acknowledge Gretchen. "What can I help with, Gretchen?"

"There are a few more parts that we anticipated. This is a good time to practice your levitation skills, Rosie. Ivy will carry most of it, apparently-"

"Ivy? Whose Ivy?" Rosie asked in confusion.

Before Gretchen could reply, the human straightened up and fixed her gaze on Rosie. "That would be me."

Rosie couldn't help but flinch a little. The human's voice was clipped and sounded angry. She'd hadn't really thought about it having a name, but then she remembered that Gretchen had mentioned it yesterday. _How could I forget something like that?_

Gretchen, sensing the tension, quickly laid a hand on both Rosie and Ivy's shoulders. Rosie let out a little gasp, how was Gretchen so calm when she was touching a _human?_

"Ivy, this is Helga and I's apprentice, Rosie. Rosie, this is Ivy, our _guest."_ She fixed Rosie with a glare that meant, _no bad behavior, or I'll stick an itching hex on you again._

Rosie shuddered at the memory and faced the human- _Ivy-_ again. "Horrid to meet you, Ivy."

"What?" Ivy said. The girl's face suddenly contorted. Her eyes squinched and if Rosie didn't know better, she'd say she looked insulted. Then a gust of wind blew through the town, and Ivy nodded in understanding.

"Oh, um...you too, Rosie." Ivy's voice wasn't angry anymore and she shook her head a little.

Gretchen dumped a smaller package into Rosie's arms. "You get this one, Rosie. And both of you…" here Gretchen leaned in and whispered, "Be a little more careful than Doctor's been acting... _odd_ about these. It's just thread, needles, cloth...and more leaves than anybody should need."

"Leaves?" Ivy asked, echoing Rosie's thoughts. "Why does he have leaves?"

Gretchen shrugged. "Don't know. But be careful just the same, got it girls?"

"Got it." Both Rosie and Ivy echoed. Gretchen nodded and glanced over them one more time, then went back to speak to the Doctor.

"Leaves and needles." Ivy deadpanned. Rosie glanced up at Ivy-the human towered over her by at least a foot- and felt the bizarre need to laugh. "Sounds like it."

"Human! i have my supplies, it is time for me to return." Rosie was still looking Ivy and saw the muscles clench in the girl's face. Her eyes narrowed, then shut as the human took a deep, shaky breath. Then she seemed to compose herself and walked stiffly after the Doctor.

Rosie, throwing one more confused glance over her shoulder at Gretchen, followed.

Rosie hovered awkwardly outside of what she guessed was Ivy's room. The Doctor had grabbed all the packages and slammed the lab door in the faces of the human and witch. Ivy had rolled her eyes and slowly started to make her way to her room. There she had slumped down and let her head fall back onto the windowsill, her eyes squeezed shut. Rosie couldn't help but be fascinated by the human's breathing. She'd never seen anybody's chest move in breath like they had when there were alive. And at the angle Ivy had her head, Rosie could see the pulse beat in her neck. _Weird!_

Rosie gave a slight cough, trying to get Ivy's attention. It worked; Ivy's head snapped up and her eyes flew open. "Oh, sorry Rosie. I can show you the way out, I guess."

"So you have no idea what he's doing in there?" Rosie blurted out, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Ivy gave a dull laugh and shook her head. "I just got here, man. I don't know anything, nor do I really want to." Ivy sighed and stood up, brushing off her jacket.

 _I'm a girl, human. Are you blind?_ Rosie thought as she followed Ivy back down the hall, near the door.

When Rosie was outside, she turned to say goodbye, and saw a strange look come over Ivy's face. Her hands tightened on either side of the doorframe, and her eyes stared at something over Rosie's shoulder. Rosie followed her gaze and saw the human staring at the forest line.

"Why are you scared of us?" Rosie blurted, unable to keep it in for another moment.

Ivy snapped to attention and stared at Rosie in shock. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. We haven't done anything to you."

Ivy's eyes narrowed. "Except keep me here, treating me like some kind of...I don't know."

"It's not our fault you're here!" Rosie yelled.

"It's not mine either!" Ivy snapped, raising herself to her full height. "I was trying to have a nice, _normal_ Halloween...well, while avoiding the staff..and then I had to go and fall down some stupid hole in the…" Suddenly Ivy's hands flew to her chest and she fell to her knees, coughing.

Rosie stood frozen in shock, but Ivy seemed to recover herself. "And now I'm stuck here, my family is probably going nuts with worry, I'm still convinced I'm gonna get killed somehow...and everybody's treating me like I'm so kind of monster."

Now Rosie was confused. "A monster? Why wouldn't we-"

"Monster is an insult in my world." Ivy said bitterly. Then she sighed and ran a hand over her face. "What I meant was...everybody's treating me like i'm some creature in a cage."

"But you're not." Rosie said, going to sit down a few feet from the human. "Of course we're a little nervous around you-we're not used to seeing humans outside of-"

"-the human world, I know." Ivy absently drew little patterns in the mud. "But in the human world, not everybody believes in monsters."

"What?" Rosie said. "That's stupid. Of course we exist? Are they blind? We only show ourselves to them every year! Don't they go around telling people about that?"

"Of course they do." ivy laughed without humor. Then her eyes widened. "Oh my god...people come forward with the craziest stories, but people either just laugh them off or arrest them for drinking-"

"Wait-don't humans _need_ to drink?"

Ivy waved a hand. "This is a certain type of drink. It messes up people's judgement if you drink too much."

"Oh, like brew." Rosie said, remembering the little pub on the far side of town, where monsters came to party and let off some stress.

Ivy frowned quizzically but eventually nodded and continued. "If I ever get out…" She stopped and shook her head. " _When_ I get home, if I talk about this place, I'll get thrown in the loony bin."

"The loony bin?" Rosie asked. "What's that?"

"It's a place for...well, crazy people. People who've either done horrible things out of pure insanity, or ones who tell such wild tales that people _think_ they're crazy."

"The second reason sounds stupid. And that's where you'll go if you talk about Halloween Town?"

Ivy nodded and let her head fall onto her knees.

"I guess." She sighed again. "Thanks for treating me like a normal person. I thought earlier you were just thinking of me as an 'it' or a 'human' like everybody else."

Rosie looked up at Ivy, not daring to admit that she had. "So what happens if we were to come up normally?" Rosie asked.

Ivy frowned and thought it over. "Well, first there'd be mass panic. Police might interfere, news would be going nuts...but I think you'd either be killed or put in a lab for scientists to 'study' you.

Rosie felt a chill run through her, and then a thought occurred to her. "So...like what's happening with you?"

Ivy turned to her in confusion. "Well, yeah, I guess-" and then Ivy's face went rigid. "Oh my god." She whisperd. "It's happening to me what would happen to you." Ivy stood up rapidly ms turned to Rosie. "Thanks, Rosie, but I'd better go..." And with that, Ivy shut the door in the face of a very confused witch.

Ivy pounded up the stairs, trying to control her rising hysteria. The epiphany about the insane asylum waiting for her back up top, but the sickening realization of her behavior.

Ivy sat under the window, her head in her hands. All this time she'd been angry about them calling her 'human' or 'it' when she had been doing the exact same thing to them.

It was a reversal- she was the monster, being treated as they would if the monsters came to the human world. _She_ was the one in the cafe, the odd one, not them.

Except...not quite. If a mons- _citizen-_ made their way to the human world, she was pretty sure nobody would stand up for them like Gretchen had, or tried to get to know her despite her obvious revulsion, like Rosie. And what had the first thing Jack said to her been?

" _I don't want to hurt you."_

And the wind, too: _...it's going to be a very long year if you don't meet us halfway..._

Ivy let out a long, shaky breath. Her heartbeat calmed. The door was most likely gone by now. She was stuck in Halloween Town for at least a year. She couldn't spend it giving herself a heart attack at every corner. Besides, with re exception of the Doctor, most of the monsters had seemed...decent.

Ivy let out a small smile. Maybe she could do something with the situation, after all.

* * *

 **Anybody guess what's in the packages? (wink)**

 **Something i really wanted to show in this story is the whole 'monster in a human world' reversed, like in Ivy's situation. I wrote the monsters as humans who would react to being in the presence of a monster, but, as Ivy realized, they're much more...low key about it. It's actually slightly difficult to write, but I hope that makes sense and that I pulled it off alright.**

 **Thanks for reading, don't forget to review as well!**

 **Lots of love,**

 **-Aria**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys-Happy Halloween!**

 **I'm giving you guys a super-long chapter (or at least what feels like one!) to make up for missing my day last week. Bad Author.**

 **I got tons of follows and favorites this week-thank you so much!**

 **artistgirl16: Thanks for the review! Hope you have a great Halloween!**

 **Popcorn Kitty: Awww, thanks! I try really hard to make sure each chapter is perfect, but if you ever notice a mistake, lemme know!**

 **Corona Pax: As always, an amazing review. I definitely have some plans for Ivy to do as you suggested...and yes, Ivy's support group is a lovely little club, huh? 'Pro-human' and all. Let's hope Ivy keeps their loyalty...**

 **Frutus Maximus:** **First, awesome name. Secondly, thank you so much! The balance between making the townspeople weary of her yet also accepting has been the hardest thing to write. I wanted them to sound like humans, but be more accepting. And Ivy is fifteen (15) years old here.**

 **Ariel-Sarina-Jen: I'm so glad so many people like Ivy! Making a tolerable OC is one of the hardest things in FF, because you have to get everybody uses to a character they have no experience with. And as for the trick-or-treaters...they have their own plans for Ivy and the town. And more Jack is coming soon!**

 **Cheese: (Again, weird but cool name.) The reason why I've included characters that don't really appear in NBC-like the wind-is because when I heard the Wind's line in the movie, I got super curious. Like, so non-monsters exist? What others might there be? And then of course I got into the politics of it all-would the input of somebody who isn't technically a monster be valued? You hear from almost every monster again in the movie, but you never, _ever_ hear from the Wind or the Shadow. Honestly, the wind wan't really going to be a big part, but he/it's grown on me-and on Ivy too!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Your guess will be tested in this chapter! And I'm so glad you like the wind- a lot of people seem too! I agree that the movie didn't do it justice-see my rant to Cheese above. Who couldn't love the wind? He's such a gentleman, my God.**

 **Nightfrightpony: Here's your update! Thanks for the review, and Happy Halloween!**

* * *

Ivy stood hesitantly on the threshold of the Doctor's lab a few hours later. She could hear suspicious noises coming from the lab- a crackle of electricity, a few yells and bangs on metal, and what Ivy could only guess was Halloween Town swears.

" _Go to Oogie's, you infernal machine!"_

Ivy couldn't help but jump at that one.

A new problem had presented itself, and it was urgent. Ivy wasn't sure if being dead affected the appetite, but she was _starving._

She hadn't been too hungry yesterday, but now she was feeling it: her stomach clenched painfully, and embarrassing rumble echoed around her room.

The most _irritating_ part was that there was an apple tree in front of her window. The apples were even alive- but it was too far for her to reach.

 _It's like that Greek myth about the dude who was always out of reach of food and water,_ Ivy mused. _I'd better do something before that turns into me._

She'd slowly ventured downstairs, trying to keep her footsteps light. Finkelstein had been so eager to start...whatever he was doing...that he hadn't locked Ivy in. And when she was showing Rosie out, she'd realized the front door wasn't locked.

It was only Rosie's presence that kept her from bolting into the forest and find the door. And even then, looking for food, Ivy felt an immense urge to disappear.

 _Nothing!_ Doctor Finkelstein didn't have as much of a _crumb_ of food. It was maddening!

So here she was, trying to screw up the courage to complain.

Finkelstein was the only that that really scared her now. The monsters, from what she had seen, were driven by a normal curiosity. But the Doctor...there was something about him that caused her hackles to rise.

The door suddenly slammed open, causing Ivy to leap a foot in the air. Finkelstein started a bit as well, causing a dark satisfaction to go through Ivy.

"Human." Finkelstein cleared his throat and his hands fiddled with the controls on his wheelchair. "Can I help you?"

Ivy's hands twitched and she couldn't help her response. "Oh no, Doctor, I'm having a _wonderful_ stay. No need for you to trouble yourself."

The sarcasm in her comment flew completely over the Doctor's metal head. "Then there should be no reason for you to disturb me! Do as you will, human. Can your primitive brain handle that?"

Ivy wondered briefly why he didn't think she'd run off, but as he made yet another remark about her intelligence, the answer came to her.

He thought she was too stupid to run off. He thought that she didn't understand that she was locked in, so what would the difference be?

Ivy, as a rule, had a great deal of patience. You couldn't get frustrated or angry when learning a new trick, and so it took quite a lot to stir Ivy's temper. But now Ivy felt a blind rage coming on. Her hands curled into fists and she even bit her tongue without feeling any pain.

Ivy took a deep, steadying breath. She'd use this anger for something later, but it couldn't help her now.

"Yes, _sir."_ Ivy answered, her voice dangerously calm.

The Doctor barely acknowledged her response, instead turning back to his table, where blueprints were spread out. Normally, Ivy would've craned her next to have a look, but her anger wasn't letting her think about much else.

Ivy initially marched on the path to her room, but the unlocked door called to her. Besides, it'd be stupid for her to stay when she was so angry-she'd do something she'd regret. A walk mighty make her feel better.

As Ivy strode past the iron gates, she realized with a start that Edgar-or any of his little raven buddies- were nowhere to be found. The pumpkin patch and forest line lay down the road, and in the distance Ivy saw the Spiral Hill. Instantly her heart beat picked up. _Her board was in there._

Ivy took a glance around, but the main road seemed almost deserted. She might not get another chance.

Remembering how squeaky the gates were, Ivy sucked in a breath and squeezed through the bars, hissing out curses when her foot got stuck. With a little effort and a small _pop!,_ Ivy was outside Halloween Town.

The same reckless, wild urge to run went through her, and this time Ivy listened. She started sprinting down the path, waving her arms to keep balance among the rocks and holes. Her legs quickly warmed up to the exercise, and despite the circumstances, Ivy was glad to be running again. It wasn't in her character to stay still.

All too soon, Ivy had reached the Spiral Hill. After digging among the reeds for a few minutes, she spotted one end of her board sticking out from under a rock pile.

" _Geschwindigkeit!"_ Ivy screeched, skidding to the rocks and digging her board out. "Oh, baby I've missed you…"

" _The others will too, and quite soon, Miss Ivy."_

For one bizarre moment, Ivy stared at her board in confusion before giving a sigh of relief and turning around. "Hey, Wind. Don't worry-there won't be any crazy escape stunts." _Yet,_ she added silently.

" _If this isn't 'crazy', then I'm a bit frightened to see what is."_

Ivy frowned. "I was just getting my board, Wind." Here she held Gesch up as proof. When there was silence from the non-monster, she couldn't help defending herself. "You don't know how _boring_ it is up there, Wind! And the Doctor…" here Ivy trailed off. For some odd reason, she didn't want to tell the wind about her fears of the Doctor.

If the wind noticed her hesitation, no note was made. " _You've got some leaves stuck in the wheels."_

Ivy muttered some profanities and dug her fingers into Gesch's wheels, trying to dislodge some of the rotten buildup.

" _Your...board...doesn't seem to be holding up well here, Miss Ivy. It's got countless scratches!"_

Ivy snorted in amusement, finally getting the last of it out. "Gesch had been through quite a lot before Halloween Town, Wind. I've worked this baby _hard!"_

Ivy rolled the wheels around. "Gesch here is the result of one whole year and half of planning, working, and more working." She flipped the board upright and pointed to the design. "See that? Gesch is custom made. Took me ages to decide on the design.

Ivy could feel the wind at the base of her neck, and watched as the wheels spun around by themselves. " _I take it the print of ivy is for your name, Miss Ivy?"_

Ivy grinned. "Right on the money." Then she turned and glanced at the sky. "Why do you call me ' _Miss_ Ivy?' Everybody else seems fine with calling me 'human.'"

" _But you don't like it, so why should I call you that?"_ Then Ivy's board flipped and Ivy felt a slight pressure on her back. " _I suggest you head back to the Doctor's, now. He will not be pleased if he finds you missing."_

Thoughts of what might happen to her if the Doctor was angry flooded her brain, and she couldn't hold back an apprehensive shudder. Gretchen had been there to prevent disaster last time, but Ivy wasn't certain what would happen if she was on her own.

So the skater got to her feet and kicked her Gesch up, loving the feeling of having her board back.

The wind had noticed the shudder go through Ivy when the Doctor was mentioned. The wind had a suspicion as to Ivy's fears, but knew that there wasn't anything that could be done. The wind just made a silent note to keep a closer eye on the doctor.

Ivy pushed off, instantly shifting her weight so that the board moved side to side, weaving in and out of the rocks that still jutted out of the path. Despite the living nightmare she'd been through the past few days, the feeling of the wind whipping through her hair and the speed and power she felt speeding down the hill almost managed to convince her that she would be all right.

Ivy rolled up to the tower, kicking her board up and stashing it under her arm. A feeling of apprehension clawed it's way through her. The tower was quiet- too quiet. Gone now were the yells and curses of the doctor. Ivy swallowed the fear in her throat and tried the door.

It swung open, thankfully without the stereotypical _creak._ The sun stretched Ivy's shadow across the floor, and Ivy could see that the foyer was empty. Nevertheless, she couldn't let go of the primitive instincts telling her to run and get away.

 _Yeah, and my instincts have been spot-on every time. When am I going to start listening?_

Ivy made it up to her room without any problems, but all that did was heighten her sense of unease. Taking care of the most obvious problem, Ivy kicked Gesch under the bed and covered it up with a spare blanket. Then all of a sudden her spine stiffened at the feeling of eyes on her.

Ivy spun around and found herself inches from the Doctor's face.

Ivy let out the loudest scream of her life, letting all her apprehension out in one go. She swung her arm to hit the Doctor, but just like the previous day, he caught it by the elbow and twisted it slightly so that Ivy's knees buckled a bit.

" _Do you know what time it is?"_ He hissed, and for the first time Ivy could see his eyes behind the goggles. There were a bright electric blue, with the pupil bulging out slightly. He looked insane.

Not even pausing for a moment, the Doctor answered his own question. "It is time for _life_ to come to Halloween Town!"

 _So he doesn't wanna kill me_ was the rapid fire thought that flew across Ivy's mind before the Doctor revved his wheelchair backwards, causing Ivy to fall to jerk forward and lose her balance. When she twisted to try and break her fall, the Doctor moved the chair yet again and the floor came rushing up to meet her.

 _But he's going to kill me! He's gonna-_ and then all went black as her head made a solid _whack!_ sound against the metal floor.

 _She was 10 years old and hovering outside of Dodgers' Skate Park. She chewed her lip nervously as she looked around at the other skaters. Many were teenagers and adults, with impressive boards and a look of utter concentration on their faces. Ivy watched in fascinated horror as one boy went speeding down a metal ramp and, with a barely visible jerk of his board, went hurtling into the sky, spinning all the while. Ivy's breath caught as he came pelting back to earth, and she worried for a moment he wasn't going to make it. Then with a satisfied whack!, he had safely landed and was speeding away, the only sign of pride the pumping of his glove-clad fist._

 _It was the coolest thing she'd seen in her life._

 _"Ivy Kunze?"_

 _Ivy whirled around to see a tall man with dark hair and dark blue eyes staring at her. There was an aura of confidence exceeding from him, and Ivy was spellbound._

 _The man raised an eyebrow and repeated, "Ivy Kunze?"_

 _Ivy managed to close her jaw and stuttered. "Y-yes? That's me." Then she drew herself up and repeated herself. "I'm Ivy Kunze."_

 _The man nodded and extended his hand. "I'm Dodgers, the owner here. I've been told you struck a bargain to get a lesson here?"_

 _Ivy flushed with pride. "You bet. Took me a lot of bribing and such, but I had to have an actual lesson here. Does that make sense?"_

 _Dodgers smiled. "Sure does. I like your attitude, kid. So let me strike a deal sigh you."_

 _Ivy blinked, but nodded for him to go on._

 _"I'm going to give you this lesson, kid. And if I like what I see, I'll take you on myself." Here he paused and turned a sharp gaze to her. "For free."_

 _Ivy's jaw hung open. "Are you serious?"_

 _Dodgers couldn't help but laugh a bit, but he became serious almost instantly. "You've got a small reputation at this place, kid. I don't want to let potential talent go to waste. Understand?"_

 _"Yes, sir!"_

 _"Good to hear, kid. Now go over and rent yourself a board. And look into getting yourself your own."_

 _Ivy had passed over to the rental shop and stood on her tiptoes to see over the enormous counter. Slowly she slid €6 over. "Board for an hour and half, please. Smallest, the one with a red stripe."_

 _The boy over the counter looked to be about 14 then. He grinned at his frequent customer and handed Ivy the board. "This good, Ivy?"_

 _"Yeah. Thanks, Ben."_

 _"Good luck with Dodgers!"_

 _After a bout of tricks, Dodgers and Ivy were taking a brief water break. Dodgers was in the middle of explaining the steps of a trick when a small girl with cropped brown hair and purple glasses came up to Dodgers. "Sorry to interrupt, but my mother wants to know if you're still on for lunch..."_

 _"You tell your mother that I never initiated lunch, and never agreed to it. And tell her to please stop threatening my employees."_

 _The girl shifted uncomfortably. "Got it, Dodgers."_

 _Dodgers saw Ivy staring at the girl and made introductions. "Um, Ivy, this is Bezata, one of my other students. Bezata, Ivy."_

 _"Hi." Bezata said shyly, extending her hand. Ivy gave a tight smile in return and shook Bezata's hand. "Hi." She said._

 _Bezata ran off to deliver Dodgers' message, and Ivy stood on top of the Dip. She stared down the very long ramp and swallowed. Then, taking a deep breath, she pushed off and went rolling down the ramp._

 _Keeping her balance was the easy bit, but the hard part came when when she reached the top. With a little hop, the back wheels of the board balanced perfectly on the top but of the ramp._

 _Ivy was suddenly filled with strongest rush of power she'd ever felt. Others in the park watched her as she turned slowly, speeding back down the ramp._

 _"Good girl, Ivy! You can come on in now."_

 _Ivy grinned in triumph and pushed the small board up the ramp. But then she heard something else- the rattle of wheels._

 _Ivy whipped her head around, her balance wobbling ever so slightly. Then her eyes widened in horror._

 _Bezata was speeding down the other side of the Dip. Bezata also saw Ivy, and her mouth hung open._

 _"Bezata! Ivy!" Dodgers voice was distant to both girls. Beezata veered to the left, and the very same time that Ivy finally lost her balance and fell- to the left._

 _The sound of Bezata's board crashing into Ivy skull made a solid whack! sound. Ivy barely had time to register what had happened before pain exploded on the top of her skull._

 _She became dimly aware that Bezata had landed on top of her, and that the two had started to roll down to the bottom of the Dip. Bezata's board stabbed Ivy in the stomach, and Bezata screamed as Ivy kicked out, trying to regain her balance._

 _When the mad rolling had ended, blood was trickling down into Ivy's eye._

 _And Bezata-_

Ivy fought against her memory, her eyes still shut, ignoring the pain on the top of her skull. Was it new? Old? Was Bezata there?

 _-Bezata was holding her wrist and screaming-_

Ivy dimly registered that she couldn't move her wrists either.

 _And there were others there, helping her up, carrying her and Bezata to a waiting ambulance..._

 _She'd glanced over at her future rival and whispered to see if she was awake. "Bezata? Bezata!"_

"Bezata!" Ivy yelled, waking up fully at last.

"Not quite." A dry voice snapped.

Ivy's dark brown eyes snapped open and she gazed around the room. She felt like she should be scared, but the aftershocks of her nightmare wasn't letting get scared by much else.

She was strapped, by her legs, wrists, and chest, to an old chair. It had dozens of little wires, some attached to Ivy's own head, and others leading to a long pole poking out of a skylight. Ivy was shocked to see that the pumpkin sun was setting. _How long was I out?_

"Try not to get yourself to excited yet. I need you to save electricity."

Ivy blinked and turned her head to the Doctor. The man was parked beside a long table, where something was covered by a sheet. Ivy twisted in her chair, trying to test the strength of the bonds.

"I have discovered that the human mind carries electric currents. Naturally, it makes sense to harness this power."

Ivy rolled her eyes up to try and see the wires attached to her forehead. Trying to distract the Doctor, she called out. "Don't you have any electricity in your...head? I mean, a metal skull. You're just begging to get hit by lightning." _And I hope you do,_ she wished feverishly.

"I'm dead, you stupid girl. My brain generates no electricity."

"Then how..." Ivy's own brain ached with the impossibility of it all. Didn't the brain send signals to the...Ivy shook her head. _Things got impossible ages ago. Don't look for logic now._

 _"_ So, are you going to explain anything here?" Ivy asked, stalling for time. She wasn't sure what was going on here, but Ivy had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

"I'm fairly sure you wouldn't understand-" Finkelstein started, but Ivy cut him off angrily.

"Don't you _dare_ say I'm not 'intelligent enough' to understand. I understand that you're doing something _crazy,_ and not bothering to ask me if I want to participate."

" _Ask_ you?" Finkelstein asked, looking honestly perplexed. "Do you have an opinion in such matters?"

Ivy clutched her fists so hard that she sworn she felt blood trickling down her palm.

Finkelstein remained oblivious. " _Electricity equals life._ It's so clear- but there must be more than just electricity from the sky!" Here Finkelstein waves a gloved hand towards the metal pole sticking through the ceiling. Then the Doctor rolled close to Ivy, pointing a finger so close to Ivy's face that she had to cross her eyes to follow it. "To create life," the Doctor said, his eyes growing wilder by the second, "the electricity must contain the spark of _life."_ And the he poked Ivy in the head.

A sinking suspicion settled in Ivy's stomach. "Hold on...you're trying to create _life?_ Using my electricity? Are you insane _?"_

And then to herself, _this is the most cliched thing I've ever been through..._

"My girl," Finkelstein said, "I am a _mad scientist._ And I'm not _trying_ to create life..." He wheeled over to the table with the sheet. "I already have." And with that, he dramatically whipped the sheet off.

Ivy instantly flinched and pressed back into her chair. Laying on the table was a woman-only a few years older than Ivy.

Her hair was the same length as Ivy's, but it was red. Her skin was blue and she wore a simple white dress. Her build was similar to Ivy's- same narrow shoulders, small hands, thin hips. Ivy shivered with revulsion as she realized where the design for the woman had come from.

But the horrifying bit was _how_ she was made. Suddenly the packages she'd picked up made sense. Cloth. Fabric. Needles and thread. Leaves.

Because she was a rag doll; with sewn up- skin and stitches to hold her joints together-but it was terrible stitchwork. Her ankles were particularly uneven.

 _I'm so sorry._ Ivy instinctively apologized. _You don't deserve this._

"It's not alive yet." Finkelstein said, misunderstanding Ivy's horror. "That's where you come in."

"Don't you guys have rules about this?" Ivy's voice was cracked. "About abusing life? Playing God?"

"There is no life down here." Finkelstein snarled. "Who is to stop me?"

"Me." Ivy's voice was hard. "You are _not_ going to bring that thing to life. Not with me, anyhow."

Suddenly thunder boomed above Ivy's head, causing her to shriek. She glanced up to see the sky totally dark, with lightning cracking and stringing hear the pole.

Ivy stated in horror at the lines of wire running from the pole to her. If lightning struck that pole...

"You're gonna kill me!" Ivy screamed, twisting madly.

"Only an 88% chance of that!" The Doctor laughed madly. "And then the life you have will be transferred to my creation!"

"That poor thing." Ivy yelled, throwing her weight from side to side, trying to tip the chair. "Does she even have a name? Or is she just another 'thing' for you to experiment on?"

"Of course she'll have a name." Finkelstein scoffed. "She's a monster, not like you, human."

 _My name is Ivy!_ Ivy mentally screamed. Instead she said, "So tell me her name, then."

The Doctor hesitated, stalling for time. "Well...one mustn't be hasty with these things..."

" _What's her name?"_ Ivy hissed, thrilled to have one thing to hold over the man.

"S..Samera...uh...Sara..."

Ivy rolled her eyes. " _Lame._ Try something more common. Like..." Now genuinely interested, Ivy scanned her brain. "How about...Sally."

"Sally?" Finkelstein asked, raising a nonexistent eyebrow. Ivy nodded in agreement.

Then Finkelstein gave an eerie smile. "Since you've formed an attachment to it now, I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving it life?"

Suddenly lightning crackled again, reminding Ivy of her deadline. The Doctor screamed with a mad joy and rushed to Ivy. "Good job, human, more power! More power!"

Ivy glanced over to the creation- _Sally-_ and watched in horror as a finger twitched.

" _Get away from me!"_ Ivy screamed. She was scared now, even more than before, almost more that the night she'd arrived.

"It's not working!" Finkelstein yelled. He sliced open Ivy's bonds and attempted to drag her over to the table where Sally lay. Ivy dug her heels in but slipped and fell against the table. The wires were still stuck to her head.

Rain was now pelting through the hole. The wind stung against her eyes, and suddenly she had an idea.

" _Wind!"_ Ivy screamed. " _Help me! Doctor Finkelstein's gone-"_

And that was the moment lightning struck the pole.

If Ivy had been in the chair, she was certain she'd have died. The electricity crackled around the chair, then traveled down the wires.

 _Oh,_ Ivy thought dully, staring at the light making it's way toward her. _I suppose this is where I get hit._

And then the electricity entered her body.

Ivy's teacher had once had all the children in her class hold hands, with two children holding a metal ball attached to a plate with a crank and a light bulb. The teacher had then turned the crank, the light came on, and Ivy gripped her friend Lara's hand. The electricity had left her feeling numb and shaking. It had been far less than what she felt now.

Her muscles started shaking, she tasted metal, and she became aware of every fiber of her being. Her hair stood slightly and the fingers that gripped the metal table started to burn. Then the pain started: great waves of searing hot pain that ripped through her, she felt her shoes burning, she tasted blood and metal and-

Then it was over.

Ivy gasped and huddled over, her muscles still shaking and aching. Dimly she became aware of wind, it was pushing wildly against her. And when her ears stopped ringing, she heard the wind's voice.

"- _have warned you about the consequences, and if I ever see you lay a hand on her again-"_

Ivy gripped the table harder and pulled herself up on shaky legs. The figure on the table was moving.

 _Don't tell me that worked!_ Ivy thought wildly. Forgetting the wind and even Finkelstein, Ivy leaned over Sally. The rag doll in question stirred slightly and then opened her eyes.

Ivy's stomach turned as Sally's eyes found Ivy's immediately. Sally's eyes were exactly the same as her-a little bigger, with no color, but the same shape.

"Hi." Ivy whispered, unsure of what to say.

Sally stared at Ivy. Then, after a moment, she responded. "Hi."

 _Thank God she doesn't sound like me._ Ivy thought. "My name's Ivy."

"Hi, Ivy." Sally said. "I'm...my name is..."

"Sally." Ivy provided. "Your name's Sally."

There was a small smile from Sally.

Then there was a roar from Finkelstein, reaching Ivy and throwing her away by the shoulder. Sally shrieked at this new person and began twitching.

"Look what you've done!" Finkelstein yelled. "All this excitement, it's too much for Sally! Now she's-"

The wind cut him off with a renowned gust and the Doctor was blown across the room. Ivy's hair was again lifted, but this time by the wind. It was surrounding her, pushing everything away.

Shock was beginning to set in for Ivy. She couldn't hear Sally's groans or feel her hand desperately trying to grasp Ivy's own.

The wind came back and pushed at Ivy, the pressure forcing her to walk. She stumbled but couldn't fall; the wind was everywhere. Ivy made an unconscious dash to her room and grabbed her board. Then she stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

The wind spoke louder than ever, knowing that Ivy was having trouble focusing on her state. " _Miss Ivy, ride down to Gretchen's. She'll make sure you're all right."_

Ivy slowly turned her head to see the lab, but the wind pushed it gently towards the door.

Ivy's fight-or-flight instinct kicked in and she dropped her board, kicking it upright and hopping on. She gained speed down the ramp and the wind wrenched the door open.

Ivy pushed as long as she could, but the aftereffects is the lighting were really settling in now. Her face and arms were going numb, and it was getting harder and harder to keep her balance.

Then the wind had an idea.

" _Miss Ivy, please place both your feet on the board."_

Confused and dazed, Ivy didn't protest.

The wind then hit Ivy's back with everything. Ivy gave a shriek of delight as she wizzed faster and faster towards the town. The board hopped and wobbled but Ivy never fell.

As they went speeding toward the gate, Icy regained enough sense to lift her arms and scream " _Boo!"_ at Edgar.

The raven guard shrieked and flew away in a panic. Ivy cackled in triumph but soon felt her head throbbing again. Pain was now a constant factor, and all humor disappeared as she went into shock.

" _Miss Ivy? Miss Ivy!"_

Ivy was now kneeling on the board, arms wrapped around her. She was coughing and struggling to breath.

The pair ended up outside the witch's house, and the wind set about howling around the place. Gretchen was the one to finally whip the door open. "Wind, it's been a busy day and I-"

She stopped and screeched at the sight of Ivy huddled on her board.

Gretchen rushed to her and gently shook Ivy's shoulder. "Ivy? Ivy! What's the matter? What's happened?"

Ivy tried to shake the fog from her brain and flinched at Gretchen's hand. Desperately she strung a few words together. "Finkelstein...lightning...made life..."

Gretchen's skin turned a dark color. "Finkelstein did this?"

Ivy coughed and nodded, desperate to sleep. "He wanted me to use my 'live' electricity to bring Sally to life..."

"Sally? Who's Sally?"

"A...rag...doll..." Ivy breathed, her eyelids weighing tons. "She's...alive...now..."

"Ivy! Don't you fall asleep yet, girl! We need-"

"Gretchen! What's wrong with Ivy?" There was Rosie standing in the door, staring in horror at Ivy.

"Finkelstein did some type of experiment on her." Gretchen explained. Then she slipped one arm under Ivy's shoulders. "Rosie, come and help me here."

Rosie nodded and ran next to Ivy, slinging the human's other arm over her shoulder. "Come on, Ivy! You can't let this get you down!"

Ivy's head lolled and she started to mumble. "...wasn't my fault...but now it is..."

"She's getting a bit delirious." Gretchen explained as they hauled the half-conscious human into the house. Rosie felt a trickle of energy running through Ivy, and gasped when she recognized it. "Gretchen, Ivy's been hit by lightning!"

"Well, that explains a few things." Gretchen said, having to speak louder to be heard over Ivy, who was now mumbling about somebody named Ben. "Wind, get her skateboard, will you?"

" _Of course, Miss Gretchen."_

And like magic, Geschwindigkeit rolled itself steadily into the house.

Helga was discarding the contents of a failed potion when the trio came in. Helga's nose wrinkled as she recognized Ivy. "What in Jack's name is _that_ doing here?"

"Shut it, Helga." Gretchen snapped, easing Ivy into a corner. "Finkelstein has done some lightning experiment on Ivy." She approached her sister, leaving her apprentice to sooth Ivy. "Nobody knows healing magic like you, Helga. She's been injured by something she didn't ask to be a part of." Gretchen pleaded, lowering her voice. "Please help us."

Helga gave the human in the corner a long, beady glare. There were a few tense moments. Then Helga rolled her eyes and gave a tight-lipped nod.

Gretchen made no thanks, but she did give a sigh of relief when Helga went and grabbed Ivy's chin, forcing the exhausted human to look at her. "Now. Human. What exactly happened?"

Ivy gave a chuckle that cracked mid way. "You're never gonna believe me, Lara."

"I don't have time for your games, human. I am Helga, the witch who is very tempted to throw you into the streets."

Ivy looked over at Gretchen and frowned. "Why'd you invite Bezata to my story-telling time, Lara? You know I can't face her, the stuck up b-"

"We thought you'd want to tell as many people as possible." Rosie interrupted, shooting a warning glance at her mentors. "So..you were at the bit with the Doctor?"

"Whatever you say, Ben. And yeah...so this crazy dude knocks me out and ties me to a chair, where I'm hooked up go like a million wires-" Here Ivy stopped and coughed. "And, uh...there was a rag doll, I named her Sally..."

"Rag doll?" Helga interrupted. "What was Finkelstein doing with a rag doll?"

"He was bringing it to life...he said if I got hit with lightning, my 'live' electricity...you know, the fact that I was alive...that it would bring her to life."

"So you got struck by lightning." Helga dead panned.

"Not directly, Lara, or I wouldn't be standing here before you." Ivy rubbed her face. "Ugh...I can still feel it..." Then she shook her head. "Anyways, Sally's alive now, and I got out did Finkelstein's thanks to the wind. It's all a little fuzzy."

" _My pleasure, Miss Ivy."_ The wind whispered, but nobody was listening now.

"It's alright, Ivy." Gretchen soothed. "You'll be sore a while, but I'll make sure Finkelstein doesn't get to you."

Ivy frowned. "Bezata would never be nice to me..you're not Bezata! Who-"

Suddenly Rosie snapped her fingers and Ivy collapsed mid-sentence. The young witch swayed on her feet, overwhelmed by the power the spell had required, and then joined Ivy on the floor.

Helga turned to her sister. "That thing is _not_ staying here."

"I told you Finkelstein was up to something! We can't let her go back there!"

"Just because you've decided you want a pet-"

"It's more than that, Helga! Can't you see beyond your own selfishness for once? I feel responsible! It's my fault that she's stuck here. Think of her family back in the human world. She's had a terrible few days, and it's _all my fault!"_

Helga was silent a moment. "I knew your generosity would get us in trouble one day." She grumbled. "Do as you will. But don't expect me to like it." With that, the witch stalked off to the back room.

Gretchen draped a blanket over the girls on the floor. Then she mumbled a quick healing spell on one of Ivy's feet- it was bare, with burn marks stretched across it. Helga was really better at this type of thing. Gretchen was almost convinced that she'd come around eventually.

"Good night, ladies." Gretchen whispered. Then she raised her head. "Wind, will you watch them?"

" _Naturally, Miss Gretchen."_

"And Wind?" Gretchen hesitated.

" _Yes, Ma'am?"_

 _"_ Is there really a creation? _Life_ in Halloween town?"

The wind hesitated as well. " _Yes, Miss Gretchen. She's asleep now as well, the excitement was a bit much. But she seems to be made of tougher stuff that if expected- she bit the Doctor when he took Ivy from her."_

"Will she be alright, Wind?"

" _Who? Ivy, or Sally?"_

"Both, I suppose."

The wind gave a light chuckle. " _I can't say much for Sally- but I think Miss Ivy have proven that she doesn't go down easy!"_

 _"_ Indeed, Wind." Gretchen gave a laugh of her own. "Goodnight, my friend."

" _Likewise, Gretchen."_

* * *

 ** _AAAnnnddd_ there you have it, Ladies and Gents. I'm thinking of doing a double update later this week in celebration. **

**Tell me what you think of the chapter! I know I took a bit of a risk with creating Sally the way she was, but I wanted to give the Doctor the paranoia over her that we see in the move while also getting Ivy the heck out of there.**

 **Leave me a review-If nothing else, tell me what you dressed up as for Halloween!**

 **Also, quick fun fact: When I was in 8th grade, my teacher had us do the same thing as Ivy's did-we got a very dull electric shock! That being said, it still hurt quite a bit.**

 **HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYBODY!**

 **love, Aria**


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy Saturday, everybody!**

 **...I say as it is almost midnight here in Germany.**

 **Frutus Maximus: Interesting costume!..? And thanks, I did get a real kick out of writing Little Bezata and Ivy. Bezata is actually based on a girl I knew in Grundshule, and our relationship was not the greatest either. Pay attention to what happens in Ivy's little flashbacks, though-they become important later! Bezata in the story may not seem to important, but there's a little something about the two that makes her very crucial to Ivy's character. Sorry I can't say more-but you'll find out soon!**

 **And in response to your second question, there is a reason why I put empathizes on 'don't know the difference between scaring and harming' in the summary. This fanfiction was formed out of two things-one was a character I thought about when i first saw NBC, when i was like 9. All she was was this skateboarding girl who got stuck in Halloween Town. She didn't even have a name. I've really wanted to do a NBC fanfic for a while, so I wanted to get to know this girl better. But the focus on scaring and harming? That's where the plot comes from, from two little lines in the movie: "Tender lumpings everywhere, life's no fun without a good scare! That's our job, but we're not mean, in our town of Halloween..." This really got my attention because in today's world, that line is very thin, as evident in many pranks. So I realized there had to be a character to establish that line, and thus Ivy was reborn.**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Finkelstein always seemed off to me, so I made him madder than any mad scientist! And we'll see Jack's reaction in this chapter...**

 **Corona Pax: Thanks for the awesome review! Here's a cookie and another chapter! Your story about the shooting star was amazing. I do believe that there are things that cannot be explained yet. To quote Robin Williams, 'What some folks say is 'Impossible' is just stuff they haven't seen yet." Keep an eye out for more cool things like that!**

 **Speaking of cool, your Coraline costume sounds _amazing._ Real buttons? It's great to scare people, thought- I was in a Haunted House this year as a tourguide and I got spooks even thought I went through it what felt like hundreds of times! **

**Popcorn Kitty: Aww, thanks! You're an amazing reviewer!**

 **Guest: Thanks, here's your update! Hope you like it!  
**

 **artistgirl16: Ivy sure is having a rough time, huh? And I'm so glad you like Wind. He's amazing for a character who wasn't even originally going to be in this story. And about Sally...I wondered how she would have been brought to life, and it seemed like life would be required. So using Ivy's 'live' electricity (science people, forgive me for the sins i have committed,) made the most sense to me. Plus, it sounded cool!**

 **ALL RIGHT, ENOUGH OF ME BLABBING! Let's see what Ivy is doing now that she's escaped Finkelstein...**

* * *

When Ivy woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was the dead weight on her legs. Blinking her eyes open, Ivy glanced down with slightly blurry vision to see Rosie curled up on her.

 _Ah haaaa...this is odd._ For a brief moment, Ivy was blissfully ignorant of what had transpired the night before. Then the pain in her muscles hit her and she had to bite her cheek to keep from groaning.

Ivy was a skater, she was used to waking up sore. But the lightning seemed to have sapped every ounce of her energy.

She also seemed to remember explaining what had happened to her friends from the human world. There was suddenly a pang of hurt in her chest that had nothing to do with the lighting.

"Let's get something straight, human." A voice said from behind Ivy. She snapped her head around to see Helga standing there with her arms crossed. "My name _Helga._ Do not mistake me for one of your human friends again."

Ivy felt her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. "Sorry about that." She croaked, then cleared her throat and tried again. "I just got a little...confused."

Helga rolled her eyes and waved a hand at Ivy. "Never mind that now. Gretchen had forced me to help you heal from your... _incident_ last night. I'd like to get that over with."

Ivy glanced down at herself and saw that while her hands were an angry red, she didn't appear to be hurt anywhere else."I'm honestly more sore on the inside." Ivy admitted, rubbing her hands.

Helga made a grunt. "I'm skilled in many fields, Human-"

" _Ivy."_ The girl cut in with a dark, warning tone.

There was a brief moment where black eyes met the brown, and an intense staring contest proceeded. The. Helga gave yet another noise of dissatisfaction and gritted her teeth. "Shall we begin, _Ivy-girl?"_

 _Better than nothing,_ Ivy thought as she rolled Rosie off her and hobbled over to a chair where Helga started feeding her a strange type of bread. At first Ivy was slightly hesitant to eat anything the witch offered her. But at Helga's glare she reluctantly ate some, and soon felt energy seeping back into her with every bite. Eventually Helga murmured some chants and started healing Ivy's burns one by one.

When it was over, the pumpkin sun was halfway up into the sky and Ivy was sitting on the porch with Rosie, chomping away on more bread. It wasn't the magic kind, and a little stale, but apparently that's how Halloween Town liked it.

"So tell me one more time." Rosie said, plunking her head into her hands and resting her elbows on her knees. " _How_ do ovens work?"

Ivy shrugged. "It runs on electricity and you choose how hot you want it to get, and what type of bake it is and such."

"Maybe the Doctor can fix us up with one." Rosie said carelessly, then realized her mistake when Ivy flinched.

"Hey," Rosie said, turning her eyes to Ivy's in earnest, "Gretchen said you won't go back, so you won't! Nothing to worry about!"

Ivy snorted. She's found out that Rosie was _much_ older than her- 193 years older, to be exact-but she still had the maturity of an eight year old. Ivy _highly_ doubted that her troubles with the Doctor were over just because she'd run away.

But most of all, Ivy was feeling a strange _guilt_ for deserting Sally. She'd only know the women for less than a minute, but she felt a _responsibility_ for what had happened to her.

And now the girl, who was all alone and still new to the ways of the world, would be stuck in that tower with _Finkelstein._

On the other hand, there was no way in _creation_ she was going back down there.

"Ivy?"

Ivy snapped out of her wallow self pity and noticed that Rosie had moved down into the square. She was holding the hand of some strange bat-like creature.

"...hi." Ivy drew the word out, glancing over the two. What was this about?

"Ivy, I want you to meet Angus. He's my best friend ever. Angus, this is Ivy. She's my third best friend."

Ivy grinned at Rosie's description and felt a warmth spread in her chest.

Angus was staring at Ivy, his jaw hanging low. Wanting to avoid any awkwardness, Ivy smiled softly at him and said, "Yes, I'm the human. My name's Ivy and I'm not going to do anything to you. I can understand what you're saying, too."

Angus blinked. " _Cool."_ He dead panned, his Russ widening in excitement. His wings flapped frantically and he stuttered, "I'm-I'm Angus-"

"I already told her, bat-brain!"

That cleared up Angus' star-struck gaze. "Don't call me bat-brain, Enchantress!" He yelled, shoving both hands into Rosie's chest. Then there was a yell from the apprentice and suddenly the two were rolling around, a whirlwind of fists and curses.

Ivy stood hesitantly on the step. She's wasn't sure if this was normal- should she intervene?

"Don't worry, they always do that."

Ivy whipped her head around to see a little mummy standing next to her and shaking her head knowingly.

"D-Do they?" Ivy stuttered. "Do with the witches generally pick fights with anybody and everybody?"

" _Vinnie!_ Come back here this instant!" A taller mummy, presumably the mother, came racing toward Ivy and the young mummy- _Vinnie_.

Ivy felt a sticking dread in her stomach. She still remembered the look of disgust and distrust that the mother at the fountain had given her. This one probably didn't want her kid talking to a _human._

The mother shook Vinnie's shoulder. "Don't run off without letting me know! How many times..."she turned, as if to apologize go Ivy. "I'm so sorry..." And then she got a look at her and realized it was the human.

The mother-whose name was Ruth- had a first instinct to check and make sure Vinnie was alright, then order her home. She'd seen quite a lot of humans, and didn't always like the look of them. She loved scaring them, but she was grateful that they stayed in their world.

And now here one sat before her.

The human in question had her head down, meekly peering up between black bangs as though she knew what Ruth was thinking. Ruth wondered briefly why the human was here instead of at Finkelstein's, but she pushed it aside. It really wasn't her business.

Rosie and Angus had finally stopped fighting and stood in front of Ivy. "Vinnie, ma'am, this is Ivy."

"Hello." Ivy said, straightening up. She was determined to represent her species in a good light. Her head swam suddenly with the responsibility. She was _not_ the best person for the job.

But she was the only one.

Ruth looked at the straight-backed human and felt a bizarre urge to laugh bubbling up inside her.

"Horrid to meet you, Ivy. I'm Ruth, Vinnie's mother."

Ivy gave a strange grin and responded. "Horrid to meet you both."

"Can I please stay and play with Rosie and Angus?" Vinnie pleased, oblivious to the look of sudden horror on the monsters' faces.

Ruth shook her head, much to Angus and Rosie's relief. "You can't, Vivian. You didn't finish you lessons yesterday-"

"But _Mooooommmm!"_ Vinnie whined, and in that moment she sounded like any other five year old. "I wanna play _noww!"_

"You guys have lessons down here?" Ivy whispered in amazement.

Ruth heard the girl's whisper. "Of course we do." She snapped. "Why wouldn't we educate the children? Perhaps you _humans_ don't-"

"We do!" Ivy retaliated, feeling anger coursing through her. Not _another_ monster would question her intelligence!

"Really? Do you learn how to scare and bandage-keeping and, and stealth...ing and-"

"That's the _baby_ stuff." Rosie sniffed. Then she turned to Ivy. "Me and Angus are in the _intermediate_ class. What are you in?"

"I'm in the Gymnasium."

"What's the... _gim-nah-si-um?"_ Angus asked.

Ivy's head suddenly swam again. How was she going to explain? After a moment, she grabbed a stick and drew a long rectangle in the mud.

"Ok, so I live in Germany. We have a three track system." She drew a small square below the rectangle. " _Kindergarten_ is where some kids go when they're little, but it's not required." Ivy became aware of the three kids lean in close to see, and felt a jolt of pride as she noticed Ruth craning her neck as well. Grinning a little, Ivy put a small _6_ on top of the rectangle. "When kids are six or seven," she explained, "we go to _Grundschule."_

Next Ivy drew three lines away from Grundschule. "When we're 10, we get sorted into three different schools."

" _3?_ That doesn't make sense! Why don't they just build more schools?"

"The three schools are three different types. There's Gymnasium-that's what I'm in." Ivy made a face. "It's the most 'academically challenging.' It's _hard._ But if you pass exams at the end, then you get your _Abitur,_ which gets you scholarships to universities and jobs and such."

She drew another line away from Grundschule.

"Next is _Hauptschule._ You're usually done by 15 or 16, then you can go to _Berufsfachschule._ You train for all sorts of jobs there. In the human world, we don't celebrate Halloween year-round. We have jobs for almost anything." Then she paused. "There's a little bit of stigma to Hauptschule now, though."

"What does that mean?" Angus asked, looking fascinated. Ivy felt relief that they seemed to be following her.

"It means some employers are jerks who make it hard for graduates to find jobs." She drew a third line from Grundschule. "Finally, we gave _Realschule._ It's got some stricter requirements than Hauptschule, and most kids end up working in IT, or banking, or social work..."

"What's IT?" Ruth asked.

Ivy suddenly realized there was a severe lack of technology in the town. If she had her phone, there likely wouldn't be any service!

"It's...kinda what the Doctor does." She said lamely, knowing it was a crap example. "It's information and technology, if that makes sense."

"These all seem very specific." Ruth complained, looking over the diagram. "Is there no in-between?"

Ivy thought for a moment, then realized there was. She grabbed the stick and drew a final line.

"Yeah! In some places, they've got this thing called _Gesamtschule._ There aren't any entry requirements, and it's got different level classes- college prep for kid who do well, average class for average kids, and special help to those who need it." Ivy paused again, sitting back on her heels. "I almost went there, but my mom and teacher were really pushing me to go to Gymnasium."

"That all sounds kind of confusing." Angus said, staring at Ivy's diagram.

"So what's your system?" Ivy huffed.

"The children are all in the same basic scares class for 50 years. Then they take classes of their own type scares they want to do. That's what Vinnie is doing now, except I'm homeschooling her." Ruth explained.

"Since I'm an apprentice, I'm being trained for the witch's craft. But I also attend another class to make sure my scaring skills are still up to par." Rosie said, hopping around.

"I haven't found a mentor yet." Angus said gloomily. "My mom keeps offering, but I don't wanna be a spotter."

"Spotter?" Ivy asked in disbelief. "What's that?"

Angus and Rosie launched into an explanation of all the different jobs, from spotters to gate-guards, from bait (leading a human to a scare) to 'catchers'(monsters that invaded Halloween parties.)

"Now _that_ sounds confusing." Ivy groaned, rubbing her hands over her eyes. "Don't you guys ever get a break? A time where you _don't_ think about Halloween?"

All four monsters stares at her with disbelief,and Ivy suddenly got the feeling that she had said something terribly wrong, a taboo of sorts. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry, I meant from classes..."

"We have the four weeks before Halloween off." Rosie said, coming to Ivy's rescue. "It's so we can help prepare for the trip, even if we can't come yet."

The door slammed and all those outside jumped slightly. Gretchen stood there, her fists clutched by her side, her mouth narrow. "Ivy, Jack would like to speak to you."

Ivy felt the stares of the monsters as she stood up, numbly brushing off her jeans as she stood in her diagram. "Why?" She asked, feeling a bit of dread sink in.

If possible, Gretchen's form grew more rigid. "He doesn't believe that his friend Finkelstein could possibly do anything horrid. But-" here Gretchen stopped herself. "Just go defend yourself."

 _Oh, so no pressure._ Ivy thought, but her own steel core kicked in as she nodded and marched past Gretchen, letting the door slam behind her.

"What can I do for you, your highness?"

Gretchen stood in the doorway, blocking Jack's way in. She'd heard Ivy head out with Rosie a few minutes ago, and she wanted to but the human as much time as possible. She had a sinking suspicion as to what he wanted.

To his credit, Jack looked slightly uncomfortable as well. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was slowly leaning backwards and forwards, waving like a twig in the wind.

"I've come to ask Miss Ivy a few questions about Doctor Finkelstein." Jack asked. "He reported she ran away last night after attacking him."

" _She_ attacked _him?"_ Gretchen shrieked, her palms gripping the sides of the door. "Have you seen the state of the girl?"

"No, but I should like too." Jack answered quietly, bowing his head before the witch's rage.

"Not a chance." Gretchen spat. "The poor girl shows up here last night after being _electrocuted-"_

"Electrocuted? The Doctor didn't say anything about that!"

"Of course not." Gretchen snorted. "He'd never put himself in a bad light."

"Are you sure she was electrocuted? Maybe she was just confused-"

"If she was confused, it was _because_ of the electrocution. If you had been there…"

"Look, Gretchen, I know that you and the Doctor had a bit of falling out-"

"'Falling out?' He called Rosie an insolent, stupid child just because she didn't understand a lecture!"

Jack laughed then. "The Doctor can be difficult to understand at times, but I'm sure he didn't mean harm."

Gretchen silently counted to ten, then said, "well, whether he meant to or not, he did, and I don't feel as though Ivy's safe there."

Jack sighed. "Gretchen, the girl has been a bit of trouble-"

"Trouble? _Trouble?"_ Now Gretchen felt a new wave of anger course through her. "You're the one who dragged her down here, who put her in an unsafe environment, who wants to keep her there! I am willing to look after Ivy until we can return her to human world, but she had done all she can do make the best of the situation, and I will not let that be undone!"

There was a brief silence where Gretchen breathed loudly and Jack hung his head.

"It is not my fault she is here." Jack said tiredly, but there was an edge in his voice that Gretchen knew meant he blamed her.

"Nor is it Ivy's fault." Gretchen whispered. "And it may be mine, but it _is_ your fault she is still in danger. And if you claim to be _any_ type of ruler, then you have to make sure she is safe. Do _not_ make her go back there."

"Please, Gretchen." Jack pleased. "May I speak to her?"

Gretchen pursed her lips, but eventually she waved the skeleton into the house, going out to fetch Ivy.

She don't miss the fear in the human's eyes when she mentioned Jack's presence, but felt a strange sense of pride when Ivy straightened up and marched past the witch. Gretchen closed the door and faced Rosie, who was looking at her curiosity. "Is Ivy going to be ok?" The apprentice asked.

"I hope so." Gretchen said darkly, then shook her head and looked at the drawing in the dirt. "Now, who can explain this?"

Jack wasn't seated, but standing-bent over, really- near an window. Ivy took a moment to examine the skeleton King, trying to figure out how to present her case.

"How are you finding Halloween town, Ivy?" Jack asked. He'd noticed how most monsters who'd run into her used her name, so he made an effort to do the same.

Ivy pursed her lips. "Besides being far from _my_ world and being a prisoner of somebody who saw it fit to _electrocute_ me, it's been just _wonderful."_

Thankfully, Jack picked up on some of the hostility her tone. "So that's true then?" Jack asked, turning to face the human at last.

It was the first time he'd seen her in daylight, and for a moment his sockets took the sight of her in. From hat on her head, to her straight black hair, to the strange jacket with padding in the shoulders, all the way down to her clunky shoes. Her arms were crossed and her eyes narrowed. Every inch of her screamed hostility.

Jack swallowed nervously as the girl responded. "Of course. I wouldn't make up being electrocuted. And as for proof? Head over and see _Sally_ , his creation."

"Sally? Who's that?" He asked, not recalling the Doctor mentioning it.

Ivy gave a huff. "Sally is a rags ill that the Doctor brought to life." She dead panned, her eyes daring him to protest. "Apparently, he's been wanting to bring something to life for ages, so he had me stuck by lightning so he could use my 'live' electricity or some BS like that. So she's alive now, and I'm here."

"Doctor Finkelstein claimed you attacked him." Jack accused, his skull reeling with the information.

Ivy bit her lip and cast her gaze upwards. "I hit him when he wouldn't let me go, but that's about it."

"He claims you bit him."

"Why would I want to put my mouth anywhere _near_ him?"

"He claimed responsibility for you-"

"And so shouldn't I feel safe?"

There was a long pause after Ivy's challenge.

"Do you really not feel safe?" Jack asked, sitting and taking another look at the human, suddenly seeing scrapes on her arms and a bruise on her head that Helga must have missed.

Ivy gave a sigh that suddenly made her seem centuries older. "I didn't feel safe anywhere, a few days ago." She said, staring at the floor and then turning her judged up gaze towards the Pumpkin King. "But then I was willing to put my fears aside and tried to feel safe, but Finkelstein only made me feel like I was in the same room as a time bomb."

"And the witches?" Jack questioned.

Ivy gave a little laugh. "I don't think Helga likes me very much, but I feel safer around Gretchen and Rosie then I ever did around Finkelstein."

Jack saw the firm way the human was standing and smiled a little. "Then I don't see why you have to remain with Doctor Finkelstein. As long as Gretchen and Helga say it's okay, you can stay here."

Ivy's face lit up as she uncrossed her arms and looked at Jack in disbelief. "You mean it?"

Gretchen suddenly came through the back and was astounded to see Ivy grinning at her.

"Gretchen, given that Ivy is...opposed to going back to the Doctor's, I propose that she remain here for a short while. Is that acceptable with you?"

Gretchen glanced over at Ivy. There was still a bit of joy in Ivy's face, but there was a tinge of fear in her eyes. It was a different kind of fear that Gretchen was used too, but one she recognized nevertheless.

Ivy was afraid that Gretchen would reject her.

A trickle of warmth came flooding into Gretchen's chest. "It's fine for her to stay here." Gretchen said, pushing the thought of what Helga would say out of her mind. "I'm sure Rosie won't mind. Is it alright with you, Ivy?" She asked the human.

Ivy gave a shy smile and a nod. "It's more than alright."

Jack stood up and clasped his hands together. "Then it's settled. I'll inform Doctor Finkelstein. Have a horrid day, ladies."

"No problem there, Jack." Gretchen cackled, escorting the boney king to the door. "Get started with your plans."

Ivy felt the immense desire to hug Gretchen, but she pushed it down. She wasn't sure how that would go over in Halloween Town, anyway. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Gretchen...what's Helga gonna say?"

Gretchen turned to her new ward with a twinkle in her beady eyes. "Oh, you leave Helga to me, Ivy. I'm sure she'll be thrilled in the end."

"Thank you, Gretchen." The statement was so soft that Gretchen almost missed it. She turned to the girl and gave her a smile. "I couldn't let that horrid Doctor get the last word, now could I?"

"Why are you helping me though?" Ivy asked, confusion on her face. "I'm a human, and most people seem to...very much dislike me. Why are you doing so much for me?"

Gretchen sighed. "Part of it is a mutual sense of responsibility. I didn't see you come through the portal, so it is my fault that you are here." Was it her imagination, or did a look of guilt pass over Ivy's face? Gretchen blinked and the expression was gone, but she couldn't shake the odd feeling she had. "But to be honest?" Here the witch came and tucked a strand of Ivy's hair back under her hat. "I think you've got a special something to share with the rest of us, Miss Ivy. Maybe a human is what we need around here." She gave one last smile to the girl, then made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go on and see what the children are up to, eh?"

Ivy turned towards the door but then paused, glancing back over her shoulders with the most relaxed expression Gretchen had ever seen on a human. "Thanks for believing in me, Gretchen." Then she stepped out and let the door shut behind her, shielding her from the view of Gretchen fighting a tear.

* * *

 **Had to give these two their moment. Gretchen means a lot to Ivy, and vice versa.**

 **Sorry about that _schooling (ha, ha,)_ that I gave you all on the German education system. I myself only went as far as Grundschule, when that was over I started going to the American school on base. But it would have been very interesting to keep it up! **

**(FYI, I'm living in Germany, and that's half the reason why my update times and responses to your PM's are at such funny times.)**

 **Please Review so I can update soon! Thanks so much for all the favorites and follows!**

 **Love,**

 **Aria**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Well hello, everybody._**

 **So Merry Christmas Eve! i hope you guys like this chapter-there will be another this week to celebrate Christmas!**

 **artistgirl16: Aww, so glad you like Gretchen and Rosie. They're pretty important to Ivy, huh? Thanks for staying with me and ivy!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Poof! Your wish (and the wish of many others) comes true in this chapter! I'm so glad you liked the 'German schools bit'...random? Yes. Informative? Yes. Interesting? I hoped so!**

 **Popcorn Kitty: Another amazing review. Ivy sends her favorite baked goods to you in thanks!**

 **WhiteMage: Your review made my day, I blushed so hard I would rival any tomato ever. Wishing you well, and I hope you like this chapter!**

 **As I said to the fabulous GoldGuardian2418, many of you have been requesting a certain something. Here's my Christmas present to you all!**

* * *

 _November 4_

Helga was not happy about the human staying at her house, but it was clear that Gretchen wouldn't have it. The human had spent the rest of the day with Rosie and Angus, who were more than happy to tell her _anything_ about Halloween town.

Jack thought it was all very interesting, but it was a bit of a puzzle as well. He was on his way back to Finkelstein's, curious about the creation that the human- _Ivy-_ had mentioned.

He really wasn't sure what to do about her. Twice now he had been accused of getting her into this mess, when she had been the one to come in the first place!

But Jack felt pity for her, too. She was to go without her own kind for a year, and stay in a place she was obviously terrified of.

 _Well, apparently it was worse before, when she was with Doctor Finkelstein,_ a treacherous voice inside his head whispered. _At least now she had no danger of being electrocuted…_

 _But it's better now, so why should I dwell on it?_ Jack was snapped out of his thoughts when he reached the Doctor's door. Raising one skeletal hand, he hesitated, then rapped firmly, the sound echoing around the metal tower.

Jack started lacing his fingers together nervously. He was in no mood to question a man who he respected and considered a friend!

The door swung open and Jack quickly started talking. "Doctor, I apologize for the intrusion, but-" Abruptly he

Jack cut himself off abruptly. Finkelstein hadn't opened the door-it was some girl. A rag doll.

Jack felt his breath hitch as he looked at her.

She was wearing a simple white dress that was too large on her shoulders and too tight around the middle. Her curtain of red hair was swept behind one shoulder, and eyes that eerily reminded him of Ivy's stared up at him.

"Are you Sally?" Jack asked, remembering Ivy's name for her.

The rag doll's mouth twitched in confusion, then she said "yes?" Sally cleared her throat and Jack watched her blue cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Sorry, but who are you?" Sally's voice was slow and uncertain, as though she was choosing her words carefully.

Jack hovered awkwardly on the doorway, one arm holding the other behind his back. "I'm Jack, the King of Halloween town. Welcome, by the way! It's horrid to have yo-"

" _SALLY? Where've you got to now? Who are you talking to?_

Sally gripped the door handle and stood aside. "I'm talking to King Jack, Doctor."

The doctor came rolling down the metal ramp and brightened upon seeing Jack.

"Jack! What can I do for you, my boy?"

Jack came slowly through the door, which Sally shut behind him. Jack could feel her gaze burning into his back, and tried to ignore the shaky feeling it gave him.

"I've...I've come to ask you something, Doctor." Jack said, desperately trying to keep his thoughts on track.

"Anything, anything!" The Doctor laughed, wheeling over where Jack stood. "Don't let me keep you, my boy. I know you have other things." He stared up at Jack, waiting.

"I've recently been to the witch's place, Doctor...and it appears…"

The Doctor sighed, his good humor gone. "Don't tell me. The human."

Unknown to either of them, Sally straightened up at that. Slowly, she made tea, determined to hear more.

"So I would appear." Jack said, mirroring Finkelstein's sigh. "Doctor, would it really be too much trouble for her to remain with Helga and Gretchen? I don't think-"

The doctor gripped the arms of his wheelchair and growled at Jack. " _Remain with the witches? You must be bring her back!_ Are you out of your skull, Jack?"

"Easy, Doctor." Jack said, a little shaken. He's never seen the doctor in a rage before.

Almost instantly, Finkelstein went quiet. Jack breathed easily, thinking the madness was over.

"I don't think you realize the power in that human's skull, Jack." Finkelstein murmured silently. "We could learn how to frighten them like never before, to truly be the most frightening things in the night! We can't let this opportunity pass!"

"At what cost, Doctor?" Jack asked hesitantly. "I am going to use her for new scares, but I don't want her electrocuted again!"

The Doctor fell completely silent. Then he barked out a crude order. "Sally. Leave us."

Jack glanced over again to the rag doll. She stared back, and Jack was shocked to see anger in her eyes. In that moment, her expression matched Ivy's angry gaze exactly.

"I want the human." Sally said, and she again seemed to be choosing her words. "But we can't...keep her."

"SALLY! It is not your place!" Finkelstein roared. Sally stared a moment longer, then turned on her wobbly heels and left.

"It was necessary." Finkelstein started to moment Sally was out of earshot. "I would never kill her, her mind is of too much value, but it was simply an experiment…a successful one at that!"

"But we are never to do harm. That's not who we are!" Jack cried, feeling sick.

Finkelstein eyed Jack but remained silent.

Jack thought back to the image of Ivy at Gretchen's. He _had_ done harm. Was this how Halloween town was supposed to be? Surely he couldn't let this happen!

"I will think it over again, Doctor." Jack said stiffly. He hated not being able to make up his mind. "But do not think I will allow harm to come to the girl, no matter where she is placed."

The Doctor's form went rigid but he said nothing, leaving Jack to let himself out.

….

Ivy rolled down the lane, reaching a small hill she'd seen from the witches' place. Here she sat on her board, resting her chin in her hands as she watched the sun set. The pumpkin's eyes couldn't be seen, and if she focused on just the right part of the colored sky, she could pretend she was watching it from back-

"It looks like the human world's sun from here, doesn't' it?"

Ivy whirled around to see Jack slowly making his way up the hill, his hands crossed behind his back. Unnerved by his accurate connection to her thoughts, Ivy gave a tight nod, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"How do you know what that looks like?" She asked, turning her gaze back to the sunset.

She felt Jack slowly sit down a few feet from her. Ivy felt her muscles tense instinctively and forced herself to relax.

"I like to go the human world a few hours earlier than the others. I tell them that I'm making sure everything is ready, but honestly-" here he wrapped his arms around his legs and leaned closer to Ivy-"it is nice to see something other than scares and horror, even if it's just for a while."

Ivy was surprised. "But you're the king! Shouldn't you be, I dunno, the most excited out of everybody? Nobody else ever seems to think about anything else!"

"I do love it." Jack rushed to assure her. "But before, I was so busy getting ready and trying to be the best that I didn't exactly...have _time_ to realize the routine of it all. When I became king, there was much more planning and much less... _doing."_ He turned to her again, confusion clear on his face.  
"Does that make sense?"

Ivy nodded. She suddenly realized how little Dodgers ever skated anymore. If being in charge meant giving up skating, was that really what she wanted?

Power problems aside, Ivy felt less comfortable than ever sitting next to Jack. Apparently, (according to a ghost snooping outside the Doctor's window,) Jack and the Doctor had had a fight over-no surprise, the human girl. While Ivy had no love for the Doctor, she'd picked up that the two were close and hated the guilt she felt.

"Did you see Sally?" She asked carefully, wanting to breech the subject carefully.

Jack's face got a brief wistful look before he snapped back to attention. "Ah, yes. She seemed very nice, if a little...odd."

"Well, she's only just been created." Ivy challenged, feeling defensive. "And already talking-beats Frankenstein's monster, anyway."

Jack snorted. "Best not mention that to him." He said, remind Ivy suddenly that _all_ monsters were down here. "And her speaking is what's odd to begin with."

"Really?" Ivy asked, curious now. "How so?"

Jack rubbed the knuckles on his left hand. "Her way with words is...unusual. She seems to be almost _choosing_ them, but different from the way you and I do."

Ivy frowned, a glimmer of an idea in the back of her mind. She shoved it aside. _No way am I going back there for anything._

"She mentioned you." Jack said casually, watching the human's face closely. He hadn't missed her interest in Sally.

Ivy started. "Really?" She asked weakly, the mild guilt coming back in a tidal wave.

"I think she just wants to see you." Jack said, turning his gaze away from the human's. "She doesn't want you to stay there, of course, but it's clear she's formed an attachment to you. She bit the Doctor when he took you from her, you know."

"I didn't." Ivy murmured softly. The sudden thought of what would happen to Sally when she left had her groan and bury her face in her hands. _It's better that she just forgets about me. That way I don't hurt her too bad when I leave for good._

That train of thought led her to all her family and friends above, who probably thought she'd left for good. The visions came back to her fiercely: Her family franticly trying to aid the police, Lara alone in the bakery, Ben behind the counter.

A fierce pain went through her again. A year! A whole year! She'd miss Anton's sixth birthday, the _Weihnachtsmarkt,_ the skate competition she'd been training for...all of it.

Jack noticed the human's sudden silence and glanced over to see her clenching her teeth and squeezing her eyes shut. Panic shot through him when he saw her open tear filled eyes and gaze again at the sunset-the sunset that had reminded her of home.

For the first time since she'd landed in Halloween Town, Ivy let herself cry.

Tears weren't common in Halloween town, but Jack had seen it on enough of his victims to know that it meant something was wrong, and strangely enough, he really didn't want there to be anything wrong with the girl.

Not to mention that the Wind would most likely send him to his second grave.

Frantically he scooted closer to Ivy, who had her head buried in her arms, which were laid across her knees. It was just a few sniffles, but he'd seen small tears turn into terrible things before.

Slowly, Jack slid an arm around Ivy's back and gently pulled her closer. He felt her tense up in spite of herself, but she relaxed almost as quickly. He didn't say anything to the girl for a few minutes, he just kept gently rubbing her shoulder and let her curl into him. The silence stretched on, and all Jack could hear was the soft sobs and feel the frantic beating of her heart.

"I'm sorry."

The voice was so quiet and broken that for a brief moment, Jack thought he'd hallucinated it. He glanced down to the girl, feeling grateful she hadn't broken away from him. All he could see was the tangled mess of black and blue hair, and he kept silent.

"I'm sorry for messing everything up down here. For Sally, the things between you and the Doctor, and just...everything."

Jack's hold on the girl tightened momentarily. "It's not your fault." He said. "Half the problem these days is that we're all looking for somebody to blame. The last monster that should be accused is you." Feeling Ivy (if possible) grow stiller, he continued. 'You know nothing about our ways and customs, why, less than a week ago you didn't even think we existed."

A dull laugh from Ivy. "Still tryin' to wrap my head around that. They're gonna call me crazy back home."

Jack frowned. "I'm sure your friends won't. What are they like?" He prompted, hoping to steer the human back to a happier plane.

Ivy stirred gently and her head emerged. To Jack's surprise, she still allowed him to keep one arm around her. "Well...there's Ben. He's a couple years older than me, but he's taught me a lot about…" She waved one arm towards the skateboard. Jack crushed his natural curiosity. _Another day._

"And Lara." She laughed again, but Jack was pleased to hear that it sounded more like a normal laugh. "I've known her my whole life. We went to Grundschule together. We had a third friend, Anna, but she moved...so it became just the two of us." The tears were gone from Ivy's eyes and starting to dry on her cheeks.

"She works at this bakery- Sehne- and she really wants to open her own. Her baked goods are something to behold." Ivy murmured.

"And Bezata?" Jack asked.

Ivy's eyes snapped open and she shot upright. "Where did you hear that name?" She hissed.

Caught off guard by Ivy's sudden change in attitude, Jack stammered, "H-Helga mentioned her. Something about how you mistook Gretchen for her?"

An embarrassed flush overtook Ivy's face. "No idea how. Bezata is the foulest, nastiest, brattiest little... _worm_ you will ever come across." Ivy slowly clenched and unclenched her fists. "If falling down here has done me any good, it's that I don't have to face _her_ for a whole year."

If Jack had eyebrows, he'd have lifted one in astonishment. "That bad?"

Ivy scowled in the general direction of the human world. "That bad." She turned to Jack. "So bad, in fact, that I'd rather try out my idea with Sally and the Doctor than face her again."

"What idea?" Jack asked in confusion.

Ivy crossed her legs and gave Jack her full attention. "Listen. When Sally was talking, did she ever say a word that hadn't been mentioned?"

Jack thought hard.

"No..I don't think so." He decided, meeting Ivy's intense gaze. "Why?"

Ivy spoke rapidly, her hands flapping around with every word. "Here's my theory. She's got this whole repertoire of words, right? But she hasn't heard them used in their context. When she hears a word spoken aloud, she knows immediately it's meaning, but no others." Glancing at Jack's confused face, her hands fell to her lap. "Basically, talk around her a lot."

Jack nodded, lost in thought. "An interesting idea." He allowed. "But what does this have to do with the Doctor?"

Jack thought he saw Ivy's face go white for a moment, but she pressed on. "We both know Sally won't discover, if my theory is correct, the full extend of her vocabulary. With the Doctor, anyway. All she'll know are orders and lots of ramblings that any rational being wouldn't be able to follow."

Jack had to smile at that. "You've picked up the Doctor pretty quick, eh?"

Ivy snorted. "He doesn't exactly make it difficult. But that's beside the point." Ivy shook her head. "The point is, I'll volunteer to go over there and talk to Sally every day. In exchange, I can live with the witches." Ivy raised her hands, her energy back. "It's perfect! Sally gets to see me, the Doctor gets an intelligent creation, I get my sanity and sense of security back, you and the Doctor won't be in a fight, and it all just falls together!"

 _Not to mention it helps with the guilt of abandoning Sally,_ a dark voice whispered. Ivy shook it off and waited for Jack's response.

Jack's jaw actually fell open. "Do you really think it will work?" He asked, staring at the human he'd dared to think of as 'unintelligent'.

Ivy squared her shoulders. "Only one way to find out."

She rose to her feet. "Can you tell Finkelstein? I'll let Helga and Gretchen know."

Jack nodded, getting to his feet as well. "Of course."

Ivy gave him a grin, which startled him. It was the first time he'd seen the human- _Ivy-_ smile. Or any human, for that matter.

She started to walk away, then slowly turned to look at Jack once more.

"Thank you, Jack." She said, and he could tell she meant it.

He tilted his head at her. "No problem." He said softly. Then, in a teasing tone, "does this mean we're at a truce?"

Just as he'd hoped, Ivy gave a little laugh. "Don't push your luck, Pumpkin King."

And with that, she pushed off, rolling away, the last rays of the sun lighting her way.

* * *

 **In case you didn't guess, the little moment between Jack and Ivy was what everybody asked for. I definitely was waiting to do a scene like that, but it had to be right, you know? It just never seemed to fit until now. But I hope you all liked it!**

 **Again, thanks for all the amazing reviews and support you guys have given me. Lots of love to you all, and please have a Safe And Happy Holidays.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, guys!**

 **My show opened last night, so I'm updating to keep the victory vibes going.**

 **Eacox1787** : It's a bit late for to say this, but I hope you're still having a good year!

 **GoldGuardian2418:** Jack and Ivy work really well together for me when writing them, thankfully, so they should definitely have more moments together in the future!

 **FanmadeFinatic:** Aww, thank you! I'm glad Ivy seems to fit in!

 **Corona Pax:** Thank you! One of the things I'm always careful about with this is to keep it as realistic as the surreal concept will allow. Thankfully that seems to be working!

Your story sounds really interesting! I've never heard of a story that actually incorporates the still-living members of a new citizen's family. I'm interested to see what you'll do with that concept! And don't ever be afraid of it sounding dorky-I almost didn't upload Ivy's story because it was so far outside my comfort zone, but Ivy seems to be well-received! I look forward to meeting Anna!

As for Ivy and Sally, I realized that Sally needed somebody to show her the ropes of town, since I think we can all agree the Doctor wouldn't do it. And who better than a human who barely knows what's going on herself! As for Lock, Shock, and Barrel...they certainly have a purpose in Ivy's story, but perhaps not what everybody thinks!

The Doctor was hard for me to write. He's just a mad scientist, willing to risk anything for advancement of knowledge, but he isn't a 'bad' character, so there's a balance. Lots of this universe requires a balance! And as for Frankenstein's monster...everybody scary is down here, and the most famous ones will be making their appearance soon!

 **mcfreakinlostit:** Thanks for the hilarious username and the compliment!

* * *

 _November 5_

Ivy squared her shoulders, trying to focus all of her anger into her gaze. Electric blue eyes were matched against the brown, and the air was thick with tension.

Sally glanced back and forth between the Doctor and Ivy, wondering if she could tear them apart in the event of a fight. She hoped Ivy wouldn't hurt the Doctor too much.

She gave a cough, and the staring contest immediately ended, with their gazes snapping to her instead. Ivy tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave the Doctor a haughty look.

"Well then, Doctor, you understand the terms that you have accepted? Can your primitive brain handle that?" She gloated.

Jack has stopped by earlier than morning and had a hushed conversation with the Doctor. He grinned at Sally on the way out, causing her to feel slightly faint. Was she ill?

The Doctor fliched hearing his words thrown back at him, and he gripped the arms of his wheelchair in anger. But he held his tongue, not having forgotten the strange anger in Jack's voice yesterday.

Ivy ignored the murderous look in the scientist's eye and flounced over to Sally, linking the rag doll's arm with her own. "Come on, Sally, let's go and have an intelligent conversation, shall we?"

Her mouth agape at Ivy's sass, Sally followed without hesitation.

Ivy settled herself on the windowsill, her back resting against the metal bars. She desperately tried to ignore the panic in her chest at being back in the Doctor's tower-for Sally's sake, she had to keep it together.

"So. The Doctor remember to feed you yet?"

Sally started and stared at the girl. She sat down on the cot, searching her mind for suitable words.

"I have. If I want to."

Sally wanted to crawl under the cot. She felt like an idiot, even though she didn't know the word yet.

"Did he explain my theory?" Ivy asked, letting one hand fall outside the bars. "About your talking?"

Sally nodded. "I could learn. With talking. My brain remembers the conversations."

Ivy clapped. "Brilliant! We'll have you learning loads of words in no time. Hopefully my voice isn't annoying, 'cause you'll be hearing it enough." She threw a sour glance at the door. "And if it annoys the Doctor, it's all the better."

Sally but her lip, struggling to connect the words and ideas. "Is he frightening?"

Ivy's head whipped around and she opened her mouth before hastily shutting it again. She was quiet a long moment, drawing a circle on her knees.

"Not for you." Ivy said at last. "When I was here before, he was really excited to create you. His Sally. You meant more to him than I did the night he created you."

Sally tilted her head and sensed Ivy's unease growing. She was contemplating what to say when a breeze came into the room, rustling both Sally and Ivy's hair.

To Sally's surprise, Ivy grinned broadly.

"Hey, Wind!" She greeted, throwing a wink to Sally.

There came a faint whisper, but Sally couldn't hear it.

Ivy rolled her eyes and waved a hand towards Sally. "So, Wind, have you officially met Sally?"

The same maddening whisper ensured, and the smile slowly left Ivy's face as she turned to look at Sally.

"Wait, can you not hear Wind?"

Afraid of angering Ivy, Sally curled into herself. "Not really." She whispered.

Ivy threw up her hands. "Why the heck is it so hard for these people to hear you!" She shouted, addressing the wind once again.

Sally strained herself, trying to make sense of the words in the wind.

Ivy watched Sally's face with growing confusion. Gretchen had told her that it took quite an effort for anybody to hear the wind's voice.

" _Don't yell at her."_ The wind scolded. " _It takes keen listening to hear me like this. You're a bit of an exception."_

Ivy scoffed at that. _Listening is the last skill on my list._

But she wasn't about to give up on Sally.

"C'mon, girl, there's a bit of me in that head of yours, right? Just ...listen."

Impressed by Ivy's efforts, the wind raised it's voice. " _Is this better, Miss Sally?"_

Meanwhile Sally was straining. Then a faint whisper came through the howl. " _...Miss Sally?"_

Sally's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open.

Ivy laughed, thrilled. "Sally, meet Wind!"

"Brilliant." Sally said, unable to think of a word higher than that. "Just...brilliant."

"Me and Sally are gonna chat and grow that vocabulary of hers." Ivy boasted, swinging one leg from the ledge.

" _How are you handling being back?"_ The wind asked quietly, so Sally wouldn't hear.

Ivy pulled the most painful expression she could, then gave a sarcastic grin. She then pulled her legs back up to her chest and fixed her gaze on Ivy.

The Wind recognized the panic in her eyes and slowly slipped out the window, giving one last word to Ivy. " _I'll let you know if he comes by. You're very brave to do this._

Ivy shook her head, muttering, "that's the last thing I am."

"What?"

Ivy's head snapped up. "Sorry, just...anything you want to talk about? I don't know much about Halloween Town, this world is a bit beyond me…"

"But you know all about the human world."

Sally watched as Ivy finally sat still, with no movement whatsoever. Then Ivy gave her a pained grin.

"Well, I can't live there for 15 years and not learn _some_ things, can I?"

The next hour was spent in a flurry of words, questions and answers both. Sally felt a shiver of delight every time a new word fitted itself into her mind. She was desperate for more.

"I feel restless." She finally confessed. Her fingers, like Ivy's, had started to twitch. "I feel like I need to be doing something."

"Tell me about it!" Ivy agreed. The human had somehow laid herself flat across the narrow window ledge. "I can't sit still, as you've probably noticed." Then, she sat up and stares at Sally quizzically. "You don't happen to have a desire to go flying down the road with wind whipping through your hair? Or...skateboarding?"

Sally shuddered. "No thanks." Ivy's eyes had taken on a wild look when she's described skating to Sally earlier. "I think my talents are elsewhere." She glanced at her hands. The blue digits traced the stitches of her dress.

She glanced up at Ivy. "With my hands. How do you make these?" She pointed to her dress.

Ivy let out a groan and dropped her head onto the windowsill. "I knew this would come back to bite me in the butt." She complained, her voice muffled by her hair.

"What do you mean?" Sally asked.

Ivy lifted her head, black hair obscuring her features. "Sewing. You want to learn to sew." Her head dropped back down. "A seamstress."

A thrill went through Sally. _Seamstress._ It felt more perfect than any word she'd heard before.

"Yes!" She cried, clapping her hands a bit. "Do you know how?"

A soft whine from Ivy.

Sally rushed over and shook Ivy's shoulder so violently, the human almost tumbled off the sill.

"Do you, Ivy? Do you?"

"Yes!" Ivy spat, shoving Sally's hands off her. "Calm yourself, woman, I can sew!"

Sally felt confusion coarse through her as the idea sunk in.

"You? You don't seem…"

"The type?" Ivy finished dryly, finally sitting up. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face.

"My aunt-Mom's sister-she _really_ disapproved of my whole...well, all of me. But she _hates_ the skateboarding. Never mind that hundreds of women have done it, never find that that half of the top skaters in Stuttgart are girls (me included)...she considers if 'unladylike.'" Ivy imitated a nasally voice. "'My girl, you cannot expect to be _ev-ah_ catch a man when you insist on hurtling off objects and bruising yourself, after the-" Ivy cut off, shaking her head.

"The point is, she's tried to teach me countless pointless things. And sewing," she sighed heavily, "was one of them."

Sally optimistically ignored the dread in Ivy's tone. "So you can teach me, right? Please, Ivy?

Ivy rolled her eyes but eventually groaned and nodded. "But it'll have to wait a bit. I'll talk to Gretchen and see what I can come up with."

The door banged open and both girls jumped. The Doctor was there, giving Ivy another cruel look. "Thanks for the heads up." Ivy muttered, feeling the wind enter the room.

"It's midday, human. Kindly don't take up any more of Sally's time."

Ivy wasted no time sending a barb back at Finkelstein. "Nice to know that improving the skills of _your_ creation is a waste of time." Taking her time, Ivy sashayed to the door and walked away, letting the door slam behind her.

"That human is a bad influence, Sally." Finkelstein grumbled. "Don't let her sway your thinking."

"Of course, Doctor." Sally said, keeping her head down, and trying to keep the smile out of her voice.

…...

"I honestly thought the girl would have a bit more of a wild side." Ivy sighed, letting her feet hang slightly off the roof. Rosie sat next to her, trying-and failing-to cast an enchantment on the fountain. Sparks flew from her hands and she gave a sharp squeal when one flew into her face, turning an eyebrow purple.

Ivy raised one of her own eyebrows, propping herself up on her elbow. "What are you trying to do, anyway?"

"Turn the fountain water purple." Rosie grumbled. "It seemed a lot easier when it was just a small cauldron of water."

Ivy gave Rosie a searching glance. "How long have you been their apprentice, anyway?"

"Ever since I decided I wanted to go into sorcery." Rosie said, sending another wave of sparks at the fountain."

Ivy tilted her head to avoid the shower of magic. "But you're a witch, right? What else could you have done?"

Rosie threw up another attempt, staining the air around the girls. "A few other people wouldn't mind a witch who can do some basic tricks. I'm training with Helga and Gretchen because I want to do more advance...stuff."

"Like turning fountain water purple?" Ivy asked dryly, waving her hand to dispel the smoke

"More like causing delirious humans to fall unconscious."

"Touché."

They sat in a comfortable silence, Rosie twirling her pale brown locks around her finger. Ivy, in turn, tugged at a spare thread on her jeans, avoiding Rosie's gaze.

"Did you ever have a bad experience with Finkelstein?" She asked, breaking the silence.

Rosie fixed her eyes on the human, but Ivy's hair fell in a curtain, hiding her face. She shrugs.

"Once. I don't understand something. But he's pretty respected here, you've got to remember. He's a mad scientist, what do you by expect?"

Ivy nodded wordlessly, listening to the chatter of the street.

Suddenly a scream echoed from down the street. Ivy and Rosie glanced at each other, and Ivy felt her heart skip a beat.

"That's not a scream of fear." Rosie said, jumping to her feet. "We're trained to hear the difference-and that sounds like it hurt!"

The witch leapt down and took off, leaving Ivy to dangle by her hands, cursing the height of the roof. A jolt went up her spine when she landed hard, but she shook it off and ran after Rosie.

For once, she wasn't the center of the stares. Other monsters had poked their heads out at the scream, including a mole like creature that erupted right in Ivy's path, causing her to trip over it.

"Sorry." It said in a gravelly voice, rubbing a clawed hand over it's eyes.

Ivy's heart rate spiked a moment before annoyance overcame her fear. "Just be careful." She grouched, pushing herself up and brushing dirt off herself.

When they reached the scene, a doll-like man with a petrified white face and bat tie was running in frantic circles around a small mummy.

It was holding it's bandaged arm and screaming, but the doll man managed to be louder.

"Chaos! Panic! Destruction! Somebody get Jack! Death is in the air!"

The child- _it had to be a kid, it was pretty small-_ looked up at the man with fear filled eyes before letting out another ear-piercing shriek.

Ivy was about to turn away in disgust when she noticed the kid's shoulder-what she could see through the ragged bandages, anyway. It seemed to have the same bone structure as a human, and she noticed the left shoulder was pulled in an odd direction.

 _Oh, no wonder you're screaming._

Ivy was pulled from her thoughts by the same doll-man shaking Rosie next to her. "Get Jack! This is a disast-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Ivy yelled, pushing past a citizen who gasped as she brushed against him. The doll-man's face got even whiter when he got a good look at the human.

"Human!" His jaw hung open as he gazed at her in panic. "Oh, where's Jack?"

"You don't need Jack." She snapped, taking brisk steps towards the kid. Her stance stiffened as she became aware of every eye in town boring into her skull. She gave a half reassuring grin to the kid. "Hey. I'm Ivy, and I know what's wrong with you and how to fix it."

The child stopped crying, an arm protruding from it's back to wipe already drying eyes. "Really?"

"Really?" Echoed the doll man, his face spinning around to a pink, smiling face. Ivy dug her nails into her palms to hold in a surprised shriek.

She nodded, kneeling next to the kid. She held out her hands, locking eyes with the kid. "Your shoulder's been dislocated." She explained, then holding in a sigh as confusion flickered over the monster's face. "It's come out of place. I'm gonna pop it back in."

"Is it gonna hurt?" It asked, and for a moment she saw any little kid who'd hurt themselves back home.

She nodded, ignoring the others. "Just for a second, though. Then it'll feel fine."

He-she'd decided to was a boy-pulled back, scared. "I want Jack."

Ivy closed her eyes and counted to ten. _Eins, zwei, drei, vier…_

"Listen." She said, raising her voice so the whole crowd could hear. "I've done this before, and I promise you that the longer you wait the worse it gets. Now, you can wait until Jack gets here and tries to figure out what to do, with the pain getting worse, or I can do it now and it'll be over in less than a minute."

The kid looked around for a moment, but the crowd was silent. Finally the pain got the best of him and he looked up at Ivy again. "Please fix it."

Ivy rolled her neck and reached out again, setting her hands on the monster's shoulder. He winced, but nodded for her to go on. His eyes were screwed shut and he tensed every muscle in his body.

Ivy took a deep breath, feeling the crowd take a breath with her. Then, before the moment had even begun, she snapped the shoulder back into it's socket.

The monster gave a piercing scream before taking a heaving breath. Then he blinked and gave a shaky laugh. "Hey, it doesn't feel so bad now!"

Ivy grinned and sighed in relief, leaning back onto her heels. "It'll be sore for a few days, but just don't do anything too hard with it and it'll be fine." She stood and extended a hand towards the monster.

Hesitantly, the young monster took it and allowed Ivy to swing him upwards. The crowd broke into murmurs, broken by Jack's voice.

"Hello! What's happened here?"

The pumpkin king waded his way through the crowd of monsters to where Ivy and the little monster sat. Ivy allowed a hand to rest on her hip as her gaze slowly wandered over the crowd, all of whom looked away from the human's eyes.

Jack, oblivious to the slight tension in the air, spoke up. "Why, Imhotep, what happened?"

The mummy- _Imhotep?-_ drew another hand over the glowing gold orbs he had for eyes. "Sorry, Jack. I was just playing and I…" He turned to Ivy. "What did I do?"

Ivy stiffened as she met Jack's eye sockets. "He dislocated his shoulder. It's fine now." She tried to leave, but the doll-man blocked her.

"It just popped Imhotep's shoulder back! How did it know to do that?"

" _It_ has dislocated her own share of shoulders." Ivy interrupted, raising her voice. If she got called _it_ one more time…

"Mr. Mayor, I assure you that Ivy knows what she's doing." Jack said, and Ivy blinked in surprise. First off, the doll man was _mayor?_ No wonder this place was so messed up!

The mayor face swung to the distressed white one as he turned to Ivy. "What if that happens again?"

Ivy swallowed, seeing Imhotep rush to a taller mummy, who had - _his? her?-_ head tilted at Ivy. "Well, I can show you how to fix it, or you can just come and get me." She locked eyes with Imhotep's guardian. "I've done it before. It's not a big deal for me."

The tall mummy pulled Imhotep to it's side before nodding a silently in approval.

Her face flushing from being the center of attention, Ivy pushed past two more monsters to stalk back towards the witch's place.

Jack gave a pained grin and walked quickly after the young girl.

"Are you alright, Ivy?"

Ivy resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the skeletal King took three large steps and reached the girl's side. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seemed different out there."

Ivy whirled around. "What kind of crazy stunt was he doing? You can't just casually _dislocate_ your shoulder!"

Jack took a step back, caught off guard by the rage in the girl's voice. "It was an accident, Ivy-"

"He's a kid!"

"He's a monster in training! He'll learn to deal with that kind of pain!"

Ivy's face twisted with disgust. "What does that mean? What the heck happens down here?"

Jack pulled his own face. "We're not humans, Girl. Children feel pain, but we lose it as we get older. We are dead, after all."

Ivy felt a shudder work its way down her spine. "W-What do you mean?"

Jack reached up and popped off his head. Though she'd seen it the night she'd landed, it still caused Ivy's heart rate to spike.

"Everybody here is dead, Ivy." Jack's head said. "Maybe as humans or something else-"

Ivy turned away, one hand impulsively flying up to her neck to check her pulse. Jack's words from the first night came back to her in a rush.

 _You have to be alive to breath….aren't you dead?_

She bit her lip, trying to keep herself steady. "I just don't like seeing kids hurt."

Jack screwed his skull back on, studying the human in front of him closer. "You said you've done that to yourself before. How?"

Ivy's right shoulder twitched at the memory. "Skating." She shrugged, wishing she had Gesch with her. "I've done a lot to myself in that sport."

Jack placed his hands on his hips. "Think of scaring like your skating. We practice, improve, compete, even center our lives around it. We gat hurt in the process, but we get used to it. I suppose you're used to injuries?"

Ivy nodded, realizing the skeleton was right. She _had_ often brushed off injuries simply because she didn't want to stop skating.

"I guess I did overreact." Ivy admitted, color flushing her cheeks.

"But it helped Imhotep, didn't it?" Jack reminded her. When Ivy shrugged, Jack started walking back towards town. "I'll tell Rosie where you went."

Ivy sat on a rock and watched a line of beetles burrow into the ground. When her hair floated off her shoulders, Ivy couldn't hold back a grin. "Hi, Wind."

" _Hello, Miss Ivy. Is Imhotep alright?"_

Ivy snorted. "Is he seriously the first one to dislocate his shoulder here?"

" _No, but Helga's usually the one to heal them. Normal citizens don't have that power."_

"So why were they calling for Jack?"

" _If you were hurt, would you want Jack or Helga first?"_

Ivy thought back to the witch she now lived with and winced. "Good point." Then a thought occurred to her. "I didn't do something wrong, did I?"

" _What do you mean?"_

"You said normal people- _monsters-_ don't fix each other. Am I gonna get in trouble?"

The wind had to hold in a laugh at the fear on Ivy's face. " _I doubt it, Miss Ivy."_ There was a pause, then the wind spoke up again. " _I must say, I am impressed."_

Ivy glanced up. "Really? How?"

" _You remained calm, despite being obviously uncomfortable. The mayor is not the easiest of citizens to deal with."_

"Tell me about it." Ivy muttered.

" _But you didn't let it affect you. You just helped Imhotep, much like Sally this morning. You're easily the most selfless human I've met in a while."_

Ivy grinned, but it faded almost instantly. "I wouldn't say that, Wind."

The wind picked up immediately on a dark time in Ivy's voice.

" _Miss Ivy?"_

But Ivy could only hear one vice, and it wasn't the wind.

" _...that was one of the stupidest things I've ever seen in my life! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You are the most self-centered, selfish girl I've ever met! You could have-"_

" _Miss Ivy!"_

Ivy blinked and stood up, brushing a chunk of her hair out of her face. "Sorry, Wind. I'm gonna go back to Gretchen's."

" _Miss Ivy-"_

"Let it go, Wind."

Caught off guard by the venom in the girl's voice, the wind allowed Ivy to march back to town. Trying to forget the dark, guilty look that had been on Ivy's face, the wind slowly faded away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, the first round of finals are over and I thought I'd update to keep my mind off of it. And as a wonderful present to you all, naturally.**

 **Skylion: Vielen dank, mein Freund-warten nicht mehr! I'm glad you're loving the story!**

* * *

 _November 6_

"AGGG! THIS IS HOPELESS!"

Ivy blinked and poked her head around the corner into the witches' workshop, then ducked to avoid a pot flying towards her head.

She was half a second too late and landed on the floor, holding her head and swearing.

Rosie was standing in front of an enormous pot, gripping her frizzy hair in her fists. A wave of heat rushed over Ivy and she gagged at the rotten stench, not unlike the smell from the Halloween tree.

"What are you doing?" She coughed, pushing herself up and waving a hand in front of her face. "Or, shall I say, trying to do?"

Rosie slammed her small fist down on the table so hard that a bottle of white liquid fell onto the floor and shattered, causing a thick white substance to float up. Ivy waved it away, her eyes still smarting from Rosie's failed...what was it?

"I'm trying to create an aura elixir," Rosie hissed, kicking a rogue spellbook, "but it's not working! What am I doing wrong?"

"Time out." Ivy said, stepping over a smaller pot and holding back an eye roll. "For those of us who don't know what an 'aura elixir' is…"

Rosie grunted. "It's-in theory-an elixir that can cause those who drink it to become hyper aware of their surroundings. We'd be able to sense the very mood of humans, so that we could scare them better. If we can tell that one is terrified of the dark, we'll have something to go off of."

"Remind me to stay inside with the doors locked next Halloween."

"Good luck with that. Everybody's always either in the human world or getting ready for the after party."

Ivy opened her mouth to correct her- _s_ _orry, I meant when I get back to the human world_ -but thought better of it. "So, what do you mean 'in theory?'"

Rosie gave a minuscule grin. "That's because it's never been made. It was just the idea of some witch eons ago. If I make it, then I can become a witch!"

Ivy rubbed her face. "Aren't you already…"

"Apprentice, Ivy. Apprentice witch."

"So I take it that the fountain water wasn't a high enough standard."

Rosie ignored the jab and dug her hand through her pocket, pulling out a beetle shell and crushing it to dust in her fist. "Not to become a witch. I've got to create some new form of magic." She sighed, her head flopping down on the table. "I just keep looking for ideas in these books, but nothing is working!"

Ivy frowned, her eyes running up and down the complicate instructions. "You're only 8-sorry, 108-though, right? Isn't that a little much?"

"I can do it!" Rosie pouted, crossing her arms. Ivy rolled her eyes, then noticed a stack of spellbooks hidden under a blanket. She stole a glance towards the door before turning back to the apprenticed witch, her eyes narrowing. "Do Helga and Gretchen know about this?"

Rosie bit her lip and stared at the door before leaping up and waving her hand around the doorframe. A sudden sudden pressure closed around Ivy, and her heart sped up as her ears popped. As soon as they had, the pressure eased somewhat.

"There, now they can't hear us." Rosie said, her voice oddly tin-like. Then she ran back to Ivy, who was breathing in and out deeply. Rosie rung her hands before staring up into Ivy's eyes. "We're only allowed to go to the human world when we can prove that we can help. And not assisting another-but really working solo. They say 118 as a benchmark, but it's really as soon as you're worthy."

Ivy picked up the book, the pieces falling into place. "So you want to be a witch as soon as possible so you can help."

Rosie nodded, her eyes wide. "Gretchen's in charge of the portal-her mentor's the one who invented it-"

"How old is Gretchen?" Ivy cut in, shocked. _Halloween has been happening for centuries…._

Rosie laughed at Ivy's open mouth before responding. "Who knows? Helga and Gretchen aren't even the oldest ones on town. And speaking of Helga, she's perfected the healing magic we all use. She's the first witch to take an interest in it."

"Sounds like she'll put the Doc out of business." Ivy muttered, still trying to wrap her mind around Gretchen's age.

Rosie turned back to the ruined spell, cleaning up a spill with a stained rag. "He's more the inventor type, anyway." She turned to Ivy with a sudden seriousness. "Promise not to tell Gretchen and Helga?" She begged. "They don't think I'm strong enough yet."

Ivy sighed deeply before holding up her hands. "I'm not a part of this. You do what you need to. I won't tell."

"Thank you, Ivy!" Rosie squealed, throwing herself at Ivy's waist. Against her better judgment, Ivy tensed only to relax as she felt Rosie hugging her tightly.

Well, relax as much as she could.

"Rosie...I'm not dead yet, I need some air."

"Sorry."

When the young witch had released her, Ivy winced at the pressure in her ears. "Can we lift the spell, please?"

Rosie's eyes narrowed as she waved her hand again, her lips barely moving to an unknown incantation. With a final _pop!_ , the spell had disintegrated.

….…

"Hold your bandages, Imhotep."

The young mummery froze at the sound of his mentor's voice, silently cursing the creaky stair that had given him away.

"What kind of sneaking around was that? It's as though you were asking to be caught."

Imhotep eyed the door before turning to face the tall mummy. "Does this mean I'm not in trouble?" He asked hopefully.

His mentor's raised eyebrow gave him the answer he needed.

As Imhotep slumped by his coffin, his mentor laid a worn, bandaged hand on his apprentice's good shoulder. "It's still too sore to scare with, so-"

"-so it can't be used to have fun. I know, I know." Imhotep grumbled. "How much longer?" He whined.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his apprentice's antics, the taller mummy shrugged. "That human knows more about this than I do. It said only a few days."

"Are you sure we can't just go to Helga?"

Imhotep's mentor slowly counted down from ten.

"You know that I would rather be stuck in the human world than even _speak_ to Helga."

Imhotep winced at the disgust in his mentor's voice, regretting that he'd brought it up.

After a brief silence, Imhotep spoke again. "She seemed nice, the human."

His mentor snorted. "Believe me, I'm thankful it was there, but I'm not convinced Jack is doing the right thing, keeping a human down here."

Imhotep kept silent.

"It'll learn all our secrets, our scares!" His mentor ranted, pacing the creaky floor. "It probably helped you to gain our trust. It's working, at least on Jack-you heard him and Finkelstein had an argument, right? They haven't fought for half a century!" He twisted a stray bandage so tightly around a finger that it snapped off. "There's a reason why we have our own separate worlds-they belong there, we belong here. There in no in between."

"But what are we supposed to do?" Imhotep argued, pushing himself up despite the protest in his shoulder. "We can't send her back!"

"How it got here in the first place is what's bothersome." His mentor hissed. "I'll bet Helga pulled it through on purpose!" At Imhotep's shocked gaze, he took a deep breath. "It's the way things have always been. We scare them, they stay away. If one comes, who knows how many will follow?"

"I hadn't thought of that." Imhotep said, more to end the conversation that anything. When the silence became too great, he added, "At least Jack said we could use her to try out some new things for next year."

"It's just not right." The taller muttered. "And it won't end well, you mark my words."

….…...

Gretchen's eyes smarted as she walked past the workroom, finding Ivy slumped by the door, a scowl on her face.

Instinctively looking around for Helga, Gretchen crossed to Ivy and watched as the human's fingers twitched and twirled across the frays of her jeans.

"Something the matter?"

Ivy's head snapped back and she started, but calmed almost at once at seeing Gretchen. "N-No. Nothing."

Even without a truth spell, Gretchen could tell Ivy was lying. She raised her eyebrows and watched the human squirm under the witch's gaze.

"It's Sally." She muttered. "Yesterday I was talking to her and she starts saying how she's interested in sewing and making her own clothes."

Helga thought a moment. "That seems to be ideal. We don't have any official 'seamstresses' here, monsters are generally responsible for their own attire. It might give her something to do that would be beneficial."

Ivy snorted and stretched her arms, feeling the burn of unused muscles. "Like Finkelstein will let her do anything 'beneficial.'"

"For herself, no," Gretchen admitted. "But if it helps him, he won't oppose."

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Whatever. She wants me to help her learn. Do you know where I can get fabrics and such?"

Gretchen eyed the human skeptically. "You can…" She hesitated, unsure of how to phrase her disbelief.

Ivy groaned and pushed herself up, hating the pop of her back. "Why is that so hard to believe?" At Gretchen's raised eyebrow, she flushed. "Alright, it wasn't my idea, that's all. The point is that I can help her."

"So go to the store in the center square." Gretchen replied smoothly, trying to gloss over her earlier hesitation. "They've got everything under the Earth."

Ivy started, wondering if Halloween Town knew it was actually under the Earth.

Gretchen continued, misinterpreting the gesture as surprise that Halloween Town had a shopping area. "There's a sign out front, you can't miss it. Helga, Rosie and I have to work on something…" She snapped her fingers. "Actually, could you pick up some Stinging Nettle while you're there?"

Ivy's eyes went wide. "You mean you're not…" She trailed off, unsure of how to add _you're not coming with me?_

Gretchen picked up on the note of apprehension in the human's voice. She laid a hand on Ivy's shoulder and internally cheered when Ivy didn't flinch. "You'll be fine." She said, her gravelly voice dropping to a near whisper. "They'll get used to you eventually."

 _Oh, comforting, Gretchen._

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes again, Ivy trailed after Gretchen as the witch sniffed the room where Rosie's 'aura elixir" had failed. She narrowed her eyes and turned to the human.

"Was Rosie fooling around in here?"

Biting her tongue and cursing the apprentice, Ivy gave a nonchalant shrug. "No idea. I'm pretty sure she's been with Angus all day, though. Only person I've seen in here was Helga."

"Helga!" Gretchen's eyes flashed as she noticed the tipped over bottle. "The thickest mist! Why would she waste that?"

Ivy stood in the doorway, her face blank. "Beats me. How do I pay for your stuff?"

Her mind still fixed on the mist, Gretchen pressed the heel of her hand against her eye. "Take the black-no, the brown string bag by the door." She growled and Ivy silently slipped past her to the door. "Helga!"

Outside, Ivy tucked the brown bag into her bomber jacket pocket and saw Rosie walking up to the front door. She grabbed the apprentice's shoulder, feeling a twinge in her chest when Rosie flinched. "Find Angus," she said, her voice low. "You've been with him all day and never went near the workroom."

With that, she left Rosie's confused form behind and headed into town.

Ivy kept to the side of the street, her head down, trying to ignore the stares and whispers. Did they think she was oblivious? The breaking point was when a group of chattering monsters who fell utterly silent as Ivy's approach. All head slowly swiveled to her, their gazes never breaking to even blink.

The moment Ivy was further away, they immediately burst into a flurry of whispers. Ivy rolled her eyes and squeezed her fists together.

Just as she was about to turn around and run back to the witches' place, the wind blew a cool breeze around her hot cheeks.

" _Do not allow it to affect you, Miss Ivy."_

"Affect me?" She hissed, as a fresh laugh rose from the group. "You can't expect me to put up with this!"

 _"I highly doubt this behavior is scarce in the human world."_

Ivy shrugged, her mind suddenly on the string of American kids who passed her bus stop each day. They'd gotten a similar treatment from Ivy's friends. "But we stopped after a while." She mumbled, more to herself than the wind.

But the wind heard anyway. _"As will they. You've been here less than a week, it will take time."_

Ivy nodded in defeat, slowly rolling her shoulders back and walking away. "Just gimme a heads up in case one of them charges."

 _"I'll be here, Miss Ivy."_

"Mama! It's the human!"

Ivy closed her eyes and counted. _Eins, zwei, drei._..

By the time she's reached the center square, Ivy's palms had little crescent-shaped marks from her nails.

She craned her neck to look at a run down shop, complete with a rotten egg small coming from the door underneath the shop's name.

"Seriously?" She asked the wind. " _'Witch Tricks?'_ "

The wind was silent.

Rolling her eyes, Ivy walked through the door, only for the door 'chime' to let out a blood-curdling scream at her entrance. Caught off guard, Ivy let out a scream of her own, jumping a foot in the air. Then her cheeks burned red as every member of the shop ( _of course it's busy, just my luck_ ,) and a few were clearly holding back laughs.

Trying to ignore them, Ivy raised her head and stalked through the entrance, her humiliation forgotten as she stared around the shop.

There was an enormous store downtown back home, with three stories full of costumes, makeup, and decorations. This small shack put the grand, sprawling store to shame.

Every wall was lined with strange gadgets, such as a complicated spider web (Ivy shuddered at this,) a pairs of rattling chains, extra bandages for mummies, shears, ( _what?_ ) and enough knives to make Ivy nervous.

There was an entire section devoted to strange plants, with a few greens among the sea of browns, blacks...purples, blues, pinks…

Ivy spotted a small sign for Stinging Nettle Leaves and slowly waded through the ankle deep fog, noticing for the first time the chill in the air that caused goosebumps to form on her arms. The leaves were stacked but didn't have a cover and she hesitated. _Well, I'm not touching them straight!_

A monster noticed the human's confusion and strode over, a grin on it's face.

Ivy felt a bump at her elbow and turned to apologize, only to come come face to face with...herself.

Ivy blinked and started, watching as her doppelgänger met her eyes.

"Ok, that's just freaky." She muttered, not breaking eye contact with the brown eyed identical to her own. "This is _so not right."_

The Ivy Double shrugged, and Ivy watched in horror as her sly smile came onto the double's face. _Oh god, this is so many shades of wrong._

"We've all got our tricks," it said, using Ivy's voice.

 _Is that what I sound like? I'm so sorry…_

"So what are you exactly?" She asked, trying to keep calm.

Her doppelgänger shrugged again. "Shapeshifter. Pretty basic, but effective."

"You don't say." Ivy muttered, her eyes taking in her own face.

Other Ivy held out her hand. "Chifte. Nice to meet you, um-"

"Ivy." She cut Chifte off, hesitantly shaking her own hand. The shapeshifter nodded slowly, narrowing Ivy's eyes. Trying to break the tense air, Chifte glanced down at the plant Ivy'd been eyeing. "What do you need Stinging Nettle for?"

"Gretchen wants it," Ivy answered. She distantly wondered why Gretchen would need it.

Chifte wrinkled her nose in the same way Ivy did when she was confused. "But Gretchen is the one who supplies us with the Nettle. Hasn't she…" the shapeshifter went quiet and suddenly avoided Ivy's gaze.

It was on the tip of Ivy's tongue to ask what she meant, but she put it away for later. "Do you have a bag of anything for it?"

"A bag?" Chifte asked, raising one of Ivy's eyebrows. "Can't you just pick it up?"

"It's Stinging Nettle!"

"So?"

"So I can't touch it, I'll break out!"

Chifte let out an "oh" and laughed. "Sorry, forgot. It hurts humans, right?" She reached down and scooped up a handful of leaves I'm her right hand.

"It doesn't hurt you?" Ivy asked, unconsciously scratching her own hand.

Chifte shrugged. "We've kinda built up an immunity, since every witch of Halloween uses it."

"Huh."

Chifte moved to the counter, laying the leaves out. "I'm sure I can find something so you can carry it." The shapeshifter opened a cabinet and pulled out a burlap sack with a suspicious green stain on the bottom. "Anything else?"

Ivy leaned against the counter, flinching as a large red rat scampered across the counter. "Umm…some fabrics, needles, thread, and such."

The shapeshifter laughed. "Rosie tear another smock?"

"Something like that." Ivy muttered, not wanting to talk about Sally.

Chifte duped a pile of different fabrics on the counter, digging through and muttering to herself. "Where's the black…"

"Actually, we're looking for different colors this time," Ivy cut in. She tried to think of Sally's preferences, but came up blank. It's not like that comes into a conversation, anyway.

She grabbed a pink square, hesitated, then slowly reached her hand out and took a yellow. Meeting Chifte's (her own) eyes, she added a tan and brown to the pile, not noticing the spotted pattern.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

A large orange lizard came scuttling out of the back room, arms moving so fast shelves toppled over, with unaffected monsters moving out of its way. It raced towards Chifte, still wearing Ivy's form, threw her hands up.

"Who in the name of Jack let a human back-"

"It's ok!" Chifte cut the lizard off, and there was a sickening slurp sound as Chifte shed Ivy's skin, becoming a tall, spindly windigo that matched a creature across the room.

Ivy stared down at the dried husk of herself pooled around Chifte's feet and fought down the nausea rising in her stomach. "Ok, that's just…"

"Chifte." The lizard sighed with obvious relief, patting the shapeshifter on the borrowed shoulder. "Not a bad scaring technique."

"I think I'm gonna be sick," mumbled Ivy, catching the attention of the lizard.

"And I assume you're the proper human?" Asked the lizard, leaning across the counter to stare at Ivy, the pointed nose inches from Ivy's own. The human resisted the urge to pull back as the lizard wetted it's eyeballs.

"Ivy." She said steadily, uncertain of the lizard's opinion of her.

"Hmm. So you say." Came the answer, and at Ivy's confused blink the lizard drew back and clapped it's front hands together. "How may I help you?"

"I don't suppose you could...get rid of the…" She gestured to the husk. "It's a little unnerving to have my _own face_ split down the middle."

Chifte waved a long, spindly hand. "It'll dissolve into goop soon enough and then be gone."

" _Fantastic,_ " Ivy muttered, taking her eyes off the double's. "Gretchen wants to buy this fabric and some stinging nettle leaves." She pulled out the little brown pouch and wondered what currency Halloween Town used.

The lizard _hmmed_ again and leaned over the counter, then nodded. "For the fabrics, I'd say...six golden spiders and that wonderful itching cream."

Ivy blinked. "Huh?"

The lizard's eyes rolled as one scaly hand pointed to the bag in Ivy's hand. "It should be in there."

Ivy frowned and opened the bag, her jaw dropping as she saw an enormous cavern below. She waves her hand below the bag, unable to believe it. "It's like Hermione's handbag," she whispered with awe.

The lizard buffed impatiently and dug a hand in, ignoring both Ivy and Chifte's shouts of "hey!"

The lizard pulled out six spiders with a golden gleam and nodded towards a small vile. "That's the itch cream."

IV reached in and pulled it out setting it hesitantly on the counter. The lizard uncorked the bottle and sniffed it, taking in a deep breath.

"Now, about the stinging nettle leaves...I'll take that silver necklace she's got in there."

Ivy made eye contact with Chifte, who made slashing across her throat and shook her head violently. Ivy paused a moment before turning to the lizard and saying, "no?"

The lizard smiled and gripped the counter causing pools of sticky fluid to leak onto the surface. "A haggler, eh?" It said, wetting the eyeballs once again. "What'll it be, human?"

Ivy glanced to Chifte in a panic, and the shapeshifter raised a finger.

"Uh..how about one..." She watched as Chifte pretended to think, then snapped two fingers and pointed to the wendigo's head. "...an idea?"

There was a nod of affirmation from Chifte.

The lizard gave a wide grin, showing all it's teeth. "An idea for scares? Well, how can I pass that up?"

 _An idea for scares? On humans? No way!_

"Umm.." Ivy tried not to panic, her mind going into overdrive as she tried to think of the most harmless scare she could. Then she remembered a haunted house she'd visited back home and had an idea.

"Take the... _target's_...surroundings, right? If you can, make sure they're comfortable there-or seek them out where they _aren't_ scared."

"What would that do?"

"I'm getting there," Ivy waved a hand. "Then what you do is slowly change the stuff around them. Move an object- far enough that it'll be noticed, but not too far. Switch two things. If you change what they're comfortable in, they'll be easier to scare. Their own imagination will do the work."

Chifte's wendigo form didn't have eyebrows, but Ivy understood the silent shock on the shapeshifter's face all the same. She rolled up most of the fabric and pushed it into Gretchen's bag, saving two to put the nettle leaves in the burlap sack.

"Is that idea enough?" She asked, unable to resist a sliver of pride.

The lizard sniffed. "For the nettle leaves, it'll do. It's not the worst suggestion I've heard." The lizard then turned and did it's odd dance to the back of the shop, leaving only Ivy and Chifte.

"Well, Gretchen probably needs those as quickly as possible, if she's sending you," Chifte said, thankfully breaking the odd silence. "Just be sure to tell her..."

"What?" Ivy asked, seeing the same hesitation that had been on the shapeshifter's ( _borrowed_ ) face earlier. "What is it?"

"Just...let her know we need our restock soon, that's all." Chifte nodded once to the human and then slipped away, stepping over the Ivy-husk that was not almost a transparent pile of liquid.

Ivy stared after the shapeshifter for a moment, not entirely buying the story, resolving to ask Gretchen about it later. "Hopefully Rosie didn't run into her," she muttered under her breath as she walked to the front of the store, feeling the renewed stares on her back. The door opened before she got there and a duck with razor sharp teeth quacked in surprise at seeing her.

Ivy rolled her eyes and then glared at the duck. "Do you mind?" She said over the duck's noise. "I'm getting a headache."

The duck stopped, as did several nearby monsters.

"What are you looking at?" Ivy huffed, signaling the nearest monster, who had the decency to look away. "Whatever."

And with the next scream of the door, the human was gone.

* * *

 **This may feel like a filler chapter, but pay attention-I've got some interesting plans for everybody that are now in motion! So don't forget to review to speed my typing fingers up!**

 **See you soon-**

 **-Aria**


	10. Chapter 10

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

 **I am absolutly _required_ to update today. I've long since done my candy gathering, (I was Holztman from the new Ghostbusters movie,) and I thought I'd give you this. **

**Artistgirl16: You've picked up on a pretty important subplot, as you'll see. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Corona Pax: A humbling and brilliant review as always. I cannot thank you enough. And yes-I'll be despertly trying to stick to my Saturday schedual.**

 **Gothic Girl: I'm so sorry about your mom, and I wish you the best of luck with your siblings. I think about you a lot and I hope my story will continue to make you happy.**

 **Halloweencolor: Thanks a million! You're never too old for Halloween-or Nightmare Before Christmas, for that matter.**

 **HolidaysSpirit: I'm keeping as much as the origanal storyline as possible, so Sally will cerainly have her 'Jack Crush.' How and when is what we'll see later on...**

 **Halloween31: You're certanly not the first to think this-Jack _isn't_ acting like himself, but I promise he'll come around!**

 **Tophnicknames: As with Halloween31, Jack is the way he is for a reason for now. Jack and the Wind will be very important together, and I'm so glad you liked the Jack and Ivy moment! Thanks for reviewing!  
**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Hello again! I'm so glad you can sympathize with Ivy, and I'm definetly taking your suggestion into consideration!**

 **Ariel-Sarina-Jen: Aw, thanks! And I didn't expect that Ivy could sew either, but she suprised me.**

 **Anon: Here you are! Thank you so, so much.**

 **EGGS: I'm so glad you're liking the interactions, as they are some of the more difficult scenes. As for an Ivy romance, it isn't in the plan as of now.**

 **Tmntfan4ever: Honestly, your review shook me out of my writing funk, and I can't thank you enough for that. So here's your halloween treat-I hope it deems itself worth of a reread.**

* * *

CHAPTER 10

 _November 7_

The pumpkin sun was never up for very long in Halloween Town, allowing for an extended night for tricks and scares. Ivy was loath to leave the relative safety of the witches' home, not fully trusting herself to remain calm.

So when the sun slid across the floor and hit Ivy's face, the human snapped awake in an instant, knowing the something was off.

Holding as still as she could, Ivy let her eyes slid around the room. She lay on the floor in a cocoon of scratchy blankets, in a room off to the main area where the witches received visitors (or whiners, as Ivy generally noticed. _Oh Gretchen, one of the little monsters cut the head of my priceless Venus Flytrap off. Can't Helga fix it? Gretchen, I need some more Hypno-Mist. What do you mean you've run out? Why haven't you gotten more yet?)_

Ivy hated the start her body would give each morning, before she mentally reassured herself. She'd done a lot of traveling, but a crappy motel on the outskirts of Weißbaten was far different from the home of fear itself.

Ivy breathed in and out, holding her hand to her neck as she counted the beats of her heart. _125...ok, Ivy, take it down...you're still alive...110...102...95...getting there._

Once Ivy confirmed she was still breathing and had all her limbs, she finally realized what was wrong.

 _Oh, no._

It was a itch-not physical, but more of a mental mosquito bite. She recognized it with a groan, pushing the blankets aside and rolling them up as silently as she could.

Ivy was never one to sit still, and every now and the she'd get the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and the even stronger urge to just _leave._ She'd done it before back home, taken her skateboard and enough money to have a good time before she'd either get caught or sneak back home.

Ivy walked as quietly as she could to Rosie's cot, checking to make sure that apprentice was asleep. The witches had been up all night trying to make something, causing Ivy to leap out of her skin with every distant _boom!_

She knew Helga and Gretchen's sleep patterns matched the town's- when the town slept, anyway. To Ivy's horror, monsters only slept once a week, and even then for only a few hours. Ivy generally locked herself in a closet to try and get the most sleep she could.

But last night had been the 'rest night' and Ivy took a moment to enjoy the rare silence of the town before pulling Geschwindigkeit out of it's spot behind a cabinet marketed _Frogs and Snails (no more puppy dog tails.)_

She pulled her boots on and slipped out of the house, praying that _today_ wouldn't be the day the front stoop creaked. But the steps remained silent, and soon Ivy was out in the open.

Ivy took a moment to take a deep breath, filling her lungs with the sickly-sweet pumpkin smell that she'd grown accustomed to. The sun was already making good progress in it's trek across the sky. A few monsters were roaming around, but not enough to make Ivy nervous. The girl rolled her shoulders and pushed off, the rattle of her wheels sounding almost the same as they did at home.

Ivy had _no_ interest in going back into town, so she leaned her weight to the left and Geschwindigkeit slowly turned towards the gate. The wind was barely there and she tensed up she finally reached the gate.

Kicking up her board and tucking it under her arm, Ivy slipped a hand through the gate, followed by her leg, then her head slowly curbing under-

"HALT, human!"

Ivy screamed and swore at the same time as she straightened up in surprise, slamming her head against the metal of the gate. She still had a sore spot from Rosie's flying pot, and even the bruises from Halloween night remained. _Can't I get a break?_

"Oh pardon, one moment…" Said a screechy voice, and Ivy felt enormous claws pulling at her shoulders and yanking her free from the gate.

Ivy scrambled up from the dirt to face a medium sized raven. A pumpkin badge was pinned to his feathers with the word _Guard #3._

"You all right, human?"

Ivy ran a hand through her locks and nodded, sighing. "I'm guessing you work for Edgar?"

The raven's sleek head bounced up and down.

"It's just me," Ivy said, holding her hands up. "I just wanted to look around outside."

The raven froze. "We're not to open the gate."

Ivy huffed. "Do you mind helping me through, then? _Without_ smashing my head this time?"

The raven ruffled his feathers and shifted awkwardly from foot to clawed foot. "You really should get back into town."

Ivy scoffed. "What's gonna happen? You'll lose a human?"

The raven went ridged, eyes widening in shock. Ivy recognized the fear in the raven's eyes and her jaw dropped. "Wait, has this happened bef-"

"You _really,"_ the raven's voice took on a steely tone, "need to _get back into town."_

Ivy gulped, all bravado gone as she stared into the raven's pitch black eyes. Her flight or fight kicked in as she felt all her instincts telling her to get away from the suddenly dangerous claws and narrowing eyes.

Ivy's muscles were as tense as the air between monster and human, and eventually Ivy slowly moved away from the raven, refusing to turn her back until she'd moved a safe distance away, then turned and ran down the cobblestone path, hopping over the mole holes and loose stones.

An enormous rock shot out of the ground and scraped Ivy's shin, causing the human to fall and swear. Ivy sat back as the rock slowly sank into the ground.

"And that, my dear, is how we stop runaways."

Ivy snapped her head around to see Jack standing nearby, an amused look on his face. "What do you mean?" She asked, risking a glance behind as she tried to ignore the blood swelling in the cut.

Jack shrugged, and in a few strides was towering over the girl. "Sometimes the people we're scaring get too far before we're done with them. So if a rock trips them at the just the right time, they may give up trying to run."

"But that's ridiculous!" Ivy argued, swatting away Jack's offered hand as she pushed herself to her feet. "They could get hurt! And how would you even know where to put these?"

Jack tilted his head and thought. "There's only a few above, but no matter! We'll get some more soon enough!"

"But if someone get hurt from these-"

"They'll still be scared, won't they?"

Ivy gaped at the skeleton. "I thought you said scaring was _fun?"_

Jack furrowed his brow. "If they get hurt, it's not as fun...so the rocks aren't a good idea?"

Ivy resisted the urge to scream _duh!_ to the pumpkin king. Instead she gave a curt 'yes' and tried to ignore the interested look on Jack's face.

Jack nodded slowly, then remembered his original interest. "What were you running from?"

The human shifted her feet and avoided Jack's gaze. "I just needed to move," she muttered. "I hate being cramped up."

Jack studied Ivy a moment longer, then started walking towards the center of town. "Well, try not to annoy the Raven Guards again. They take their job seriously."

"Guarding from _what?"_ Ivy asked the skeleton's retreating back in frustration.

Jack stopped and closed his eye sockets, the weight of the questions settling on his shoulders.

After a long movement he asked, "Are the witches still asleep?"

Ivy furrowed her brow, thrown by the turn in conversation. "They were when I left, yeah."

"Well then!" Jack clapped his hands, an excited smile on his bony face. "How would you like to accompany me on my morning rounds?"

"Morning rounds?" Ivy frowned, then shrugged. "Sure."

Jack grinned larger than ever as he started taking long strides towards the town, hearing Ivy's startled footsteps trying to keep up.

As they walked (or jogged, in Ivy's case) across the cobblestone, the sewers let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a groan. Jack crouched down by one of the pipes along the road, while Ivy hesitated slightly behind him.

With an exaggerated _pop!_ a slimy, wet creature came part way from the drain. Ivy felt her nose curl at the strong scent of rotten fish and waste, resisting the urge to cover her mouth and gag.

"Good morning!" Jack said brightly. "How may I help you?"

"It'sss the fisssh, Jack!" The thing moaned, green and brown gills flapping on the ground. "The fisssh!"

"What about them?" Jack asked, tilting his head. "I thought there were plenty of dead fish for you to eat!"

"Not enough f-for thievessss and me to ssshare!" The thing screeched, flopping dramatically onto the road. Ivy flinched as several droplets of water hit her face and arms.

"Thieves, you say?" Jack asked, calmly wiping brown sludge off his bat bow tie. "That's an awfully harsh accusation."

"It'sss true!" The creature shrieked, then caught sight of Ivy. "Have you ssstolen my fisssh?"

"I have not _touched_ your fish," Ivy snapped. Jack waved a hand in the human's direction to calm her.

"The new moon is in a few days," Jack said, addressing the creature. "The fish will replenish themselves as they always have-but I can ask around if anybody's seen something."

The creature gave a gapped fanged from. "Thankssss, Jack!" And with that, it popped down into the sewers with a loud squelch.

Jack rose to his full height again, not noticing Ivy's facinated stare as his bones clicked together. "She gets a bit possessive of her swamp," Jack explained as he continued walking down the road. "Some of the citizens near her take some, just to tease her."

"What kind of citizens?" Ivy asked, hoping to figure out what the big danger was. "Do they live in town?"

Jack shook his head, folding his long arms behind his back, bending a bit that Ivy could see him better. "Some shadowy spirits that don't like the bustle of town life stay there."

"Jack!"

The king turned to wink at Ivy. "That'll be the mayor, giving me the latest Halloween problems."

Ivy smiled in spite of herself.

The man with the white face moved faster than Ivy thought he should be allowed to, coming up to Jack and wailed pitifully.

"Jack, there's a crisis on our hands!"

Ivy hovered awkwardly to the side of the Mayor, shooting Jack a questioning look. The skeleton shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "What's happened, Mr. Mayor? I thought we already sorted out the awards that got stolen."

"It's worse then that!" The mayor sniffled, completely ignoring Ivy, who was fighting back laughter. "We're running low on everything! The thickest fog, the healing herbs, all of it! The patches are dry, the store is almost empty, and Helga and Gretchen haven't-"

"Mr. Mayor!" Jack cut the mayor's babble short, sparing a glance at Ivy. "I'm sure that the shortage will be resolved shortly."

The mayor's face swung around to pink and smiling, kicking Ivy's heart rate up.

"If you say so, Jack!" And with that, the man scuttled away without looking back.

"What was that all about?" Ivy asked, staring at the white face beneath the mayor's hat.

Jack was very glad the girl was too focused on the mayor to notice the worry on his own face. He closed his sockets, remembering the bare shelves he'd seen at the store.

"Jack? You ok?"

The skeleton looked down to the girls' questioning face and shook his skull, forcing himself to smile. "The mayor tends to worry about problems long before they occur. It really does help!"

As Ivy snickered and looked around, Jack noticed a plume of smoke coming from the witches' place.

"Well, Ivy, sorry to leave you, but I've got to take care of something a little more...private now. Will you be alright?

Ivy blinked, frowning at the disappointment she felt. "Yeah. No problem."

Jack nodded and walked away, only to be stopped by a call from Ivy.

"Jack...why do you guys have guards on the gates, anyway?"

Jack was grateful his back was to the human, lest she see the panic on his face. "You-You can't' be too careful," he called, turing to give her one last grin before striding away.

Ivy stared at the black gates and stone walls in the distance. Halloween was long since over in the human world. The door _had_ to be closed by now.

"There can't be any more humans coming," she muttered, her eyes narrowing. "So what are they keeping out?"

…..….

Jack's smile dropped from his face as soon as he was out of the human's eyesight. He'd seen her "sneak" (some of the worst he'd ever seen,) out of Helga and Gretchen's and followed her to the black gates.

When he'd heard the squawking of the raven guard, he felt an unusual race of what he knew to be _fear._ The relief was stronger than he'd thought it could be when he'd seen the girl was still breathing.

He rapped on the door, thankful when Gretchen opened it almost immediately. The witch glanced down at Jack's side as though expecting to see Ivy there, but sobered up when she saw the look on Jack's face. She wordlessly held the door open and the pumpkin king ducked inside.

Ivy saw Jack enter and crept along the side of the house, where she knew there to be an open window for small spider colonies. Giving the arachnids a warning glare, Ivy huddled under the frame and strained to hear.

"...one of the guards caught her just before she got out, thankfully…" Jack's low voice held none of it's usual lightness and Ivy swallowed to hold in her fear.

"But why would she?" Gretchen hissed. "The portal closed Halloween night! What is she looking for?" The witch sighed and Ivy could almost see her yanking her hair the same way Rosie did.

"It's something in the woods...how could she know? When I saw her come out of those woods I thought...it could have been too late before we even knew she was _here._ "

"Ivy came out of the forest?" Gretchen asked, and Ivy flinched at the steel in the witch's voice.

"...yes?" Ivy could almost see Jack's confused blink. The pressure when she talked about the doors was back against her chest, and she felt her stomach roll when she remembered _nobody_ knew she'd come out of the door. Nobody has been there…

….except the wind. What was it?

" _I saw you last night near the hollow…"_

Did the Wind know about the doors? Why didn't it tell everyone?

Ivy was tempted to ask, but Gretchen spoke again and Ivy strained to listen.

"Jack…" _c'mon, Gretchen, speak up! "_ Why can't we just _tell_ her? Would it be so terrible if she knew about-"

"Don't say the name, Gretchen." Ivy almost leapt out her skin at Jack's growl. Gretchen was silent instantly, and the spiders abandoned the window completely. "Ivy cannot leave Halloween Town. Lock her away if you must, but we _cannot_ have history repeat itself."

Ivy bolted from the window, the claustrophobia pressing down harder than ever as she fought for breath. She grabbed Gesch from the end of the lane and rode away from the gates, her path jerky due to the panic gripping her. She went faster, almost knocking down some monsters who stared openly. But for once, Ivy couldn't care less..

There was a dark cave that was most likely home to something else that could kill her, but Ivy took it and threw herself against the cold dirt, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself.

 _110..94…'cannot have history'-134, come on!_

It took the Wind a few minutes to find Ivy, but eventually located the girl in her little overhang. The human was sprawled out flat on her back, muttering to herself with one hand on her neck. The wind hesitated, uncertain of how to phrase it's concern.

" _Miss Ivy?"_ The wind asked, hating the shudder that went through the girl at the voice. Ivy didn't open her eyes.

"What is _happening?"_ She asked, her voice cracking. There weren't any tears, but the Wind guessed it wouldn't take much to send her off the edge. "What is out there? Why can't I leave? _What aren't you telling me?"_

" _Miss Ivy, you're going to give yourself a panic attack. Please calm down-"_

"Why do you guys keep _lying_ to me?"

" _It is not my place to-"_ the wind cut off as Ivy coughed harshly, her breath uneven. " _Miss Ivy please try to breath."_

When the girl had calmed down, the wind thought it was safe to try again. " _While I understand your frustration-"_

"Why didn't you tell?" She snapped, catching the wind off guard.

" _Tell about...what, Miss Ivy?"_

"About the night I...fell," she whispered, and before the pressure became too great she added, "that it wasn't through the portal."

The pressure felt like it could crack a rib, but she kept her mouth closed and rode out the pain. The wind blew a cool breeze around the girl's hot cheeks.

M

When it seemed like the Ivy could pay attention to him again, the wind whispered, " _I know, Miss Ivy."_

Ivy's eyes flew open and she stared at the ceiling, following a crack that made a spiral pattern. "What _was_ it?" She asked, feeling the pressure ease. "Gretchen doesn't know about it, Jack doesn't, _nobody-"_

" _Nobody does,"_ The wind confirmed. " _I'm not sure what it is myself-only a dark space that...you fell out of."_

Ivy picked up on the wind's hesitation. "There were other humans here, weren't there?"

The wind died.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ivy yelled, leaping up and grabbing at the air. "Don't you go all quiet now! I want some _answers!"_

" _They are not mine to give, Miss Ivy,"_ the wind said, the words so soft Ivy almost missed them. " _But please know that we have no intention to harm you."_

Ivy snorted, causing the wind to die a little.

"What was the mayor freaking out about, then?" She asked sullenly. "Is that my fault, too?"

There was a pause, but it somehow managed to be an awkward one. Ivy felt herself pale. "Wind, what did I do?"

" _Nothing, Miss Ivy,"_ the wind rushed to assure. " _Gretchen may be able to explain it better than I….she can't ignore the book much longer…"_

"What book?"

But the wind had flitted away, leaving Ivy alone in the cave.

Ivy crossed her legs and turned Gesch's wheels almost venomously, the gears in her mind mimicking the board's.

Something else was going on. Her mind shoved away Jack's dark tones and focused on the shortage the mayor had panicked about.

Ivy chewed her lip, suddenly remembering the witches' own storage room. Gretchen had shown it to Ivy once, and the girl recalled the jars of herbs, odd collections of sticks and bolts...and an enormous dusty book tucked away on a shelf.

 _Maybe that was the book the wind was talking about!_

But then a warning Gretchen had given her swarmed before her. _I know these may look interesting, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave this room be. It's dangerous if you don't know your way around._

Ivy stood, back growing rigid as she fixed her eye on the smoke coming from Gretchen's' place. She knew all three witches would be out meeting a friend today, leaving her in the house.

The human grit her teeth and walked back towards town.

She was getting into that book.

* * *

 **Uh-oh.**

 **HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!**

 **-Aria**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey Everybody!**

 **My hotel in** **Düsseldorf didn't have WiFi, so you get your update today instead. On the plus side, I did get started on the next chapter early!**

 **Corona Pax: Hello again! Things are certainly heating up for everybody around Ivy. And it isn't over yet...**

 **Tmntfan4ever : Happy (albeit late) Halloween! And no worries-I don't intend to have as big a break as I did before, and I hope you know how much your review means to me. I hope you like this chapter!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Your perception on this story is as wonderful as always. Thanks you so much for the compliment and the review!**

 **So Ivy's got a plan-let's see how it turns out...**

* * *

CHAPTER ELEVEN

 _November 7_

 _10:36 am_

Ivy leaned against the door frame to the witches' common room, listening to Gretchen ramble.

"-and he may seem a bit spacey, but he's really very sweet. Have you met him yet?"

Ivy noticed the lingering worry in Gretchen's eyes and decided to ease her mind, "I haven't been exactly seeking out a guy with an ax in his head."

Gretchen smiled and Ivy forced herself to relax. The witch had barely let Ivy out of her sight since she'd come back, and Ivy guessed she was still turning Jack's words over her head-just as she herself was. Her eyes darted over to watch the hands of the old clock shoved into the corner. _C'ome on, c'ome on…_

Gretchen hoped her nerves weren't obvious to the girl. She snuck another glance at the human, who had her arms crossed lazily as her gaze tracked a wayward spider.

The mayor had sent a message by ghost to the witches moments before Ivy had returned, summoning them to the town hall. She felt a little guilty about breaking their other appointment, but she was more concerned about leaving Ivy.

She straightened up as Helga materialized into the room, broomstick in hand. Helga smirked at Ivy's twitch, then narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Where's Rosie?"

Gretchen sighed heavily, grabbing her handbag and tying it to the end of her broom. "Your guess is as good as mine. If she comes home, Ivy, don't let her leave again. She's been avoiding her chores all day."

Helga looked out the window before calling to her sister. "Let's get going, Gretchen. We don't' have much sunlight left."

…...….

Ivy gave the witches a fifteen minute head start before she crept along to the storage room, startled to find it unlocked. She grabbed a lantern from the floor and held it high, holding back a gasp.

When Gretchen had show her the room before, the shelves had a few empty patches, but the majority had been at least partway filled.

Now, only a few dried leaves or berries remained. Ivy sneezed from the dust and set the lantern on a high shelf, her gaze searching for the book.

 _There!_

Laying hazardously on the edge of the workbench was the leather bound book, a huge knot holding it closed. Ivy pulled the book to her, using her sleeve to wipe off the cover.

 _Halloween Town Herbal Stock (Third Edition)_

Ivy felt a twinge of gilt seeing Gretchen's messy scrawl, but pushed it down. She tried to yank on the knot, only to get rope burn.

Hissing, the human spotted what looked like the wing of a metal bat, the edges torn and jagged. Holding the book in one hand, she grabbed the wing and with a few saws had broken the rope.

The moment she opened the book, a face came stretching through the pages, screaming it's cover off.

Ivy gave a scream of her own, but kept her hold on the book.

" _THIEF! TREASON! INVADER!"_

The screams grew louder and Ivy swore, knowing she didn't have much time. Ignoring the book now copying her profanity, Ivy wrestled through the pages, her eyes growing wide.

 _Stinging Nettle...2 Caterpillar Hairs….0_

 _Poison Ivy...3 Spider Eyes…0_

 _Giant's Ward...0 Pumpkin Seeds…..1_

 _Nightshade...4_ _Pig's Snout…..0_

The trail of zeros grew longer the further the dates were from Halloween, Ivy slightly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things that the witches would have. "I wonder-"

" _IVY!"_

The human let out a screech to rival the book's as a pair of nails dug themselves into her shoulders, ripping her away from the book. She landed on her back, looking up into the furious black eyes of Gretchen.

The book was still shrinking, but Gretchen sent over a spell with enough force to send it speeding against the back wall of the storage room, where it sat whimpering.

Ivy scrambled to sit up, but a spell from Helga sent her flying to join the book. She groaned and pushed herself up on her elbows, her shoulders hiking up defensively. A patter of feet revealed Rosie hanging n the doorway, her eyes wide as she stared at the human on the floor.

"What in the name of Halloween were you doing?" Gretchen exploded, the trees outside bending under her energy.

Ivy stood up, suddenly aware of the magic in the room as she met Gretchen's gaze. "Nobody was telling me anything, so I thought I'd check for my-"

"You deliberately disobeyed!" Gretchen yelled, sparks leaping from her fingertips. Even Helga frowned at her sister's fury. "You went behind our backs-"

"Why are you guys having such a huge shortage?" Ivy interrupted.

"That is a problem due to _you,_ human," Helga spat. "Don't try and act righteous!"

"What do you mean it's _my_ fault?" Ivy yelled, confusion coloring her voice. "What do I have to do with your damn plant problem?"

"Stop it!" Rosie screamed, startling all three. "Stop fighting!"

Ivy ignored the glares of the witches and closed her eyes, fighting to keep control.

Surprisingly, it was Helga who broke the tense silence. "It is far more than, as you so carelessly put it, a mere ' _plant problem.'_ She sighed, forcing herself to take a calm tone-for her sister and Rosie's sake. "Every year after Halloween, Gretchen, Rosie, and myself go on a long gathering for supplies in the upcoming year. These are our healing herbs, food staples, and the like."

"So... _what_ does that have to do with me?" Ivy asked, her foot beginning to bounce with discomfort.

"Because when _somebody-"_ here Helga turned to glare at Gretchen, "-decided to have a human as a pet, we can't go resupply?"

"I said I'd work it out!" Gretchen snapped over Ivy's indignant " _Pet?"_

Helga's glare increased. "Your idea of 'working it out' is ignoring the problem? It takes the three of us _months_ to get this done!"

Ivy let her arms fall from their defensive cross. "What does the town usually do when you're not here?"

"Usually, there wouldn't be a problem," Gretchen explained, refusing to meet Ivy's eyes. "But on last year's gathering, we found a sickness had killed almost all our supplies. We've been rationing for months as it is-we just didn't tell Jack."

"'Cause he'd tell the mayor and he'd get everybody worried," Rosie finished, seeing the question on Ivy's face.

"We have some more tucked away, but we didn't want to give them out until we figured out what to do with _you."_ Helga finished, causing Ivy to stiffen up again.

"And when were you planning on telling _me?"_ Ivy snapped.

"It isn't your business, human!" Helga fired back.

Ivy ground her teeth in frustration. " _When_ will it be my business what happens to me? You guys sound just like the doctor!"

 _WHAM!_

Two spells sent Ivy crashing back to the floor, only to feel Gretchen towering over her. "Do not ever compare me to him again, girl." Gretchen's dark tone sent a shiver of fear through Ivy, sapping the rage out of her.

"I...I was out of line," she said softly.

"You were more than that, Ivy girl," Gretchen said, crossing her arms as she gazed down at Ivy. "But then, you're only human."

And for some reason, that was worse than anything else that had been said.

Ivy swallowed thickly and pushed herself to her feet, careful to keep her eyes down. Helga huffed and led Rosie from the room, the young apprentice stumbling over her feet.

Gretchen let out a long sigh, then let her arms fall to her sides. "We'll figure out how to handle the situation. But be warned-" here Ivy steeled herself to look into Gretchen's eyes- "-I do not ever want you going behind my back again, understood?"

Ivy shuddered and held her twitching hands together. "I get it."

Ivy didn't move until Gretchen had left the room, and even then the human stared at the book laying on the floor.

 _Gott, I messed up._

Ivy slipped out the back door, running her hands through her hair as she settled herself on the bottom step, fearful to leave the witches' place.

"Wind?" She asked softly, noticing the leaves on the trees shudder as she spoke. When she got no reply, Ivy raised her voice, panicked. "Not you too! WIND!"

" _Yes, Miss Ivy?"_

Ivy almost laughed in relief. "Wind…" she reached down to pick some mud off her boots. "I screwed up, big time."

" _I discerned that from the screams of the witches' supply book,"_ the wind remarked dryly. "As did, I believe, half the town."

Ivy groaned at put her head between her knees, and the wind decided to take pity on her. " _Fortunately, I doubt few bothered to make the distinction between the everyday shrieks and the book."_

"Gretchen and Helga did," Ivy mumbled, her voice muffled by her knees.

" _I see."_ The wind blew about her shoulders, but ceased when she shivered. " _My apologies."_

"It was _awful,_ " Ivy moaned, misunderstanding the wind's comment. "Gretchen was even more pissed than Helga, and now she's never gonna trust me again!" Ivy made to lift her head, but deemed the action too much work. "This day _sucks."_

The wind made no comment.

An idea fueled Ivy to look up in the air accusingly. "Did _you_ know about the shortage? And how it's my fault?"

" _I admit I knew the witches had been having difficulties for a few months,"_ the wind admitted. " _However, I did not factor in your presence or it's affect-and I am sorry for not warning you."_

"It's not your fault," Ivy grouched.

" _Neither is it the witches or yours,"_ the wind reminded. " _These things will do happen."_

"But the town needs that stuff!" Ivy protested. "And where am I supposed to go? Why did Gretchen even take me if she knew she needed to leave?"

" _Because her concern for your situation at the doctor's outweighed her common sense,"_ the wind snapped. Seeing Ivy recoil, the wind backtracked. " _She already knew she had one problem. She didn't' want to leave another unsolved."_

Ivy nodded sullenly, guilt at her Gretchen-Doctor comparison causing her to bite her lip close to the bleeding point.

Suddenly, little dirt tornadoes whipped up, and Ivy gripped the step in shock. "Wind? _Alles klar?_ "

" _Of course, Miss Ivy!'_ The formless being sped around the yard. " _I've had an idea to fix your problem!"_

"Really? Great!" Ivy jumped up and teetered dangerously in the winds. "What is it?"

" _In due time, Miss Ivy-give me but an hour."_

And ignoring Ivy's cry of, "Come on, you too?" the wind sped down the road.

 _Now, where is the pumpkin king?_

* * *

 **Oh boy. Ivy _did not_ help her case today.**

 **And for those of you asking about Jack-as the wind shows, he's going to play a major role in the next few chapters!**

 ** _Alles klar=_ Is everything ok, alright, ect. **

**See you on Saturday!**

 **-Aria**


	12. Chapter 12

**Maybe I should change update days to Sunday...**

 **Corona Pax: Thank you so much! I've noticed the wind in your own story and I'm so glad you like him/it so much.**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Ivy definitely messed up, let's hope that she understands that! Thank you for your review!**

 **Tmntf4ever: Thank yo so, so much! You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear that a story is improving-and as for Jack, I can only promise that he'll get even better!**

* * *

CHAPTER 12

November 7

12:42 pm

"That is quite a problem," Jack mused, his long arms tucked behind his back. "The witches certainly can't leave her alone…"

The wind kicked up some leaves, giving Jack something to look at. _"I am aware of your desire to ensure that she remains in town,_ " the wind twisting in the air around Jack's head.

"Exactly!" Jack nodded eagerly. "Maybe another monster will take her…"

The wind wished it had eyes to roll. For the King of Frights, he was horribly dense at times.

 _"Perhaps_ …." the wind suggested carefully, _"if you got involved yourself yourself?"_

"I'd like to, but how…" Suddenly Jack's face lit up and the wind knew the light had clicked on. "I've got an idea!"

There was only a soft breeze in response, urging Jack to continue.

"I have plenty of room in the manor, and it wouldn't do for me not to give her a Halloween Town welcome!" He cocked his head. "Do you think the witches would mind?"

 _"I highly doubt it,_ " the wind rushed to assure. " _And it's no trouble for you?_ "

Jack shook his head. "Gretchen had been cross with me about the girl ever since she came-this will make her forget all about that! It's perfect!"

Without saying good-bye, Jack sprinted down the road towards the witches' house.

"You want to do _what?_ "

Jack was, for once, painfully aware of the tense air in the shack, but tried to ignore the instinct to run from Gretchen's glare. "You need somewhere for Ivy to stay until your return, correct? I want to make sure what we talked about this morning-" here he glanced around for the human and lowered his voice, "-is handled properly."

Gretchen narrowed her eyes. "I've known you for 200 years, Jack. You can't just forget about her when you get bored again."

Jack's sockets widened. "You know I see each idea through until the end, Gretchen!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Gretchen muttered.

Jack softened. "Gretchen, you are a Halloween Town witch. You should be out doing what you need to do-what you love to do. Let me worry about the newcomer."

Gretchen sighed. "She's outside. There was a...situation...this morning. I'm sure she'll accept your offer."

Ivy was sitting under a dead tree, twirling an orange leaf in her fingers. Eventually she twirled it so hard it spun from her and, landing on a pile of other leaves.

Jack watched her a moment before stretching, the creak of his bones causing Ivy to start.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, leaning against her tree.

The girl shrugged half-heartedly.

Jack waited for her to say something, but the girl refused to look at him and began to shred the leaves in the pile beside her.

"Did Gretchen tell you to talk to me?" She finally muttered.

Jack blinked in confusion, then decided to get on with it. "We were talking about how you ought to stay with me while the witches are away."

Ivy's eyes widened and she dropped the leaf. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Jack confirmed earnestly, not understanding when Ivy snickered. "Halloween Town needs the emergency supplies as soon as possible!"

Her smile faded and she looked down, disappointment clouding her features. Jack's confusion mounted, (had he said something?) but before he could ask, the girl shrugged once again and gave him a grin.

"If that's what it takes, then I'm in," she said, standing and brushing leaf shreds off her pants. Jack gave his own toothy smile.

"How horrid!" He leaned close to the human. "Well, come on then! There's so much that needs to be done!"

"What, now?" Ivy protested, grabbing Gesch and scrambling after the pumpking king, who was bounding past the house. Ivy only got a glimpse of Gretchen's closed off face before Jack's boney hand gripped her upper arm and pulled her through the cobblestone streets, her sprinting to stay on her feet as they left the witches' house behind them.

….

Ivy stood before the gates of the Skellington Manor, rubbing her arm and racking her eyes over the house. She'd seen dozens of haunted houses in her time, but this won in a landslide.

Rickety wooden steps (none of them perfectly aligned, she notices with a sigh,) led up a house that should have been architecturally impossible, with it's tiny base and sprawling upper floors. Odd grey clouds hid behind the house, casting a gloom over the place. The human took in the dark wood and nails, the crooked tower and dead grass.

"Isn't it perfect?"

Ivy bit the inside of her cheek at the pride on Jack's face. _Don't say anything mean or you'll be the monster…_

"I…I've never seen anything like it before," Ivy replied honestly, watching as Jack's face lit up. "Splendid! Come and see the rest!" He sped through the gates and opened the front door, holding it open and bowing slightly as Ivy came closer.

The human grinned in spite of herself, stepping over the threshold into the home of the master of scares.

There were the now-expected cobwebs and pumpkins sitting around, but Ivy was surprised to see a furnished living room past the main hall. She hugged Gesch closer and peered up the dark staircase, jumping a little as Jack closed the door.

"Seems a little big for one per-monster," Ivy commented. She frowned and turned to Jack. "Are you the only one living here?"

"Living may not be the best word," Jack joked, "but yes, it is just me." Seeing Ivy's perplexed look, Jack added, "usually I'd have an apprentice here-"

"You have apprentices too?" Ivy interrupted, wondering why the place wasn't absolutely full. I'd think everybody here would LOVE to be his apprentice!

" It's generally tradition to stay within one's own species," Jack explained. "And besides, nobody wants to learn how to run the town. Maybe later I'll get somebody." The skeleton glanced forlornly at the floor before brightening up and grabbing Ivy's hand once again. "Come on upstairs; you'll like this!"

The skeleton threw open a small black door to reveal a small bed pushed against the window. "It's one of the guest rooms," Jack explained as the girl looked around. "And seeing how you're a guest, I thought this might work!"

Ivy gave a slow smile and propped Gesch against one of the walls, Jack sighing in relief at the girl's silent approval.

Ivy turned back to the king and clapped her hands together decisively. "So, how about the rest of the place?"

...…...

Ivy frowned at the wall opposite her bed, her head beginning to pound from all the blood racing in. When she couldn't take it anymore, the girl dug her heels into the wall between her bed and the wall, pulling herself up onto the bed.

" _Thirty-four,"_ she muttered in German, before dropping back to the floor.

Jack's manor seemed to be even larger than she'd originally thought, with seemingly endless amounts of doors and, surprisingly, books.

"Curiosity is at the very core of scaring," Jack had explained eagerly as he pulled the human around his laboratory. "What do think killed the cat?"

The fall from the tree, Ivy had mentally snarked before being whisked away once again.

When she'd broached the subject of food after Jack had become convinced another monster had come in when Ivy's stomach growled, the skeleton's bones had turned even whiter before he presented a bowl of pumpkin soup.

"I don't need to eat often, so that might be going bad a bit...it should be fine though, right?"

Ivy had stared at the black hunks of pumpkin, steeling her nerves. Offering up a prayer to God, Allah, and Batman, the girl had finished the soup with a pained smile, causing the king to break out into a real one.

The soup was currently extracting it's revenge as Ivy swore her way through three more sit ups before abandoning them all together, flopping onto the bed and tracing the grooves of the wall nearest to her with her finger.

 _"So what do you think of things, Gesch?_ " Ivy asked quietly, her native language a relief after almost a week. _"How long before I screw something up?_ "

Though it would have shocked Ivy, the same thoughts were running through Jack's skull.

The skeleton wasn't sleeping, but silently pacing across his laboratory floor. It was a welcome change from his earlier post outside of Ivy's room, where he feared any discovery might turn the girl against him.

A note had arrived late in the evening, while Ivy was distracted with talking pumpkins and ghosts hanging around on Jack's back porch. It read:

 _Jack:_

 _We depart in the early morning for the fields, and we expect to return around 303 days until Halloween. We wish you well in both the care of the town and of the girl._

The note wasn't signed, and Jack was troubled at the realization that he couldn't tell which sister had written it.

What would happen if the girl tried to leave town? Or if she didn't' want to stay anymore? What if he scared her? What if-

"Hey Jack!" Ivy called, trying to force the back door shut, "what's the Halloween Town word for 'piss off, ghosts'?"

Or maybe, just maybe, it would work.

The skeleton paused and listened to the far off tick of the countdown clock, a sigh rattling his ribs. "No use worrying about it now," he said aloud, wishing someone was listening. "Might as well do my best."

And with that thought, the pumpkin king plopped down in his chair, staring at the flicker of the candle on his desk until he closed his sockets and slept.

* * *

 **A short chapter, I know-but now that Ivy's (mostly) settled, the fun can begin!**

 **I'll see you all next week-don't forget to review!**

 **-Aria**


	13. Chapter 13

**Happy Saturday!**

 **Guest: I'm so glad you're loving this story!**

 **Tmntfan4ever: No worries! The main details of Ivy's story are all plotted out, but I will agree that many idea come while I'm writing. I _am_ in the middle of tech week for a show, so currently chapters are a little short, but longer ones are coming! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Thank you! Jack and Ivy are defiantly going to have to work with each other, which will hopefully lead to some trust. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **And a special shout-out to Corona Pax-go read _Skeleton Anne_ , everybody, it's wonderful. **

* * *

Chap 13:

 _November 8_

 _7:25 am_

The morning began, as common in Halloween Town, with a scream.

Ivy shot up, smacking her head on the slope on the ceiling. In her haste to defend herself, the human got tangled in the dark bed sheets and fell to the floor.

The scream rang out again, but this time Ivy heard Jack's voice calling patiently, "One moment! I'm coming!"

Curious, Ivy pulled her jacket on and tiptoed out of the room, the scream cut off as Jack pulled open the door.

"Hello!" Jack greeted, surprise coloring his voice.

"Is Ivy here, Jack?" Three voices asked, filling the hall. Ivy bent over the railing, shocked to see Angus, Vinnie, and a third monster hovering on the doorstep.

Jack could feel the human's presence behind him, but kept his sockets on the hat covering one of the monster's faces. "What brings you here, Shock?"

"Same as anybody," the trick-or-treater's voice grated, causing Ivy to flinch. "Angus said he knew the human and I dared him to prove it."

"Hey, Angus," Ivy said, finally coming down the stairs. The bat demon smirked and Shock dropped four pieces of candy into his outstretched talon.

Jack didn't relax his stare at Shock, who looked into the king's narrowed sockets with as much innocence as she could muster. Luckily, Ivy was distracted by the other two monsters.

"Ivy Ivy Ivy!" Vinnie chirped, her bandages yanking on the human's wrist. "There's gonna be a sneak competition downtown! You wanna come?"

"'Sneak Competition?'" Ivy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's much fun!" Vinnie squeaked. "You try and spot sneakers, and if you catch 'em-"

"-then you get to join!" Angus cut in.

"Where are your brothers?" Jack asked the silent trick-or-treater, keeping his tone light.

Shock sniggered. "Barrel ate some bad mushrooms that we gave him, and Lock is stuck in a chair."

Jack blinked in confusion, then decided he didn't want to know. Shock seemed more competent than her brothers, so Jack allowed Ivy to be pulled out of the manor and towards the center of town.

To Ivy's unease, citizen were statue-still in their scattered positions around the town square, the only movement being the quick dart of all eyes towards the four as they entered the square. The three monsters froze and sat down, Angus reaching out to stop Ivy from walking. When the human remained standing, the bat rolled his eyes and yanked her down.

For several minutes, tense silence overtook the square. Ivy's eyes darted around, her shoulders unconsciously tensing as she wondered if she'd be a target for the 'sneakers.'

"HA!" A stumpy creature yelled, causing every being in the square to jump. The monster hurtled something at a trash can by the end of the square, causing a loud _splat_ to echo.

" _Jack's skull!"_ Came a swear from within the alley. Ivy blinked as a dark shadow with green highlights slunk away. "Is...is that the voodoo guy from _Princess and the Frog?"_

"Well, some human kids thought he was scary," Angus muttered.

The monster who had done the throw took the shadow's former position and hunched over before disappearing. Ivy bit back a laugh as it was hit by almost six monsters mere minutes later.

"Where are you guys getting this stuff?" She muttered to Angus.

The three monsters exchanged pitying looks before digging their nails under the cobblestones, (making Ivy wince,) and pulling the stones up, exposing a sickly green goo drifting through the streets. The three dipped their hands in and scooped it up, Vinnie eagerly depositing her's into Ivy's hesitant hand.

It had a jello-like feel and Ivy shuddered at the cold exterior. It slid between her fingers and traveled up her arm, retracting when Vinnie slapped it. "It'll go into your ear if you let it, " she said mildly, arranging her bandages into a slingshot for the goo.

Ivy held back her shriek and dropped her handful, only for it to slither back up her leg.

"Just hold it," Angus sighed. "It'll be happy there."

Ivy cupped her hands doubtfully and flinched as the goo puddled in. Her eyes darted to the left as she saw a fat snake with spikes along it's spine silently slithering along a wall. Before she knew what she was doing, the human hurtled the goo forward, hitting the snake with a solid _splat!_

Ivy snapped back as Vinnie eagerly shoved her. "Now it's your turn!" She squealed.

Ivy blanched. "What? No way!"

"But that the _rule,"_ Vinnie whined, growing louder. "You _have_ to!"

"All right, all right," Ivy hissed, trying to keep the mummy quiet. She stood up shakily and stepped out of the main square, much to the amusement of the other monsters.

 _Now what?_ The human wondered, noting the severe lack of hiding spaces. When she heard a rattle from above, she crouched down and pressed her back against a building as a sickening _plop_ dropped a dried husk before her. A mangy dog that Ivy realized was Chifte leaped down from the same roof, licking it's foreleg before scampering away.

Ivy waited until the streets were clear, then grabbed the edge of the roof and pulled herself up. _Maybe I can at least stay above-AHH!_

The roof wasn't flat and she fell (noisily) onto the street before the main square.

 _SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!_

"Oops," Vinnie whispered.

The human slowly blinked open her eyes, feeling the goo from every monster in the square drip onto her face. The cold covered her arms and legs, and she spat out some that had gotten into her mouth, shuddering at the rubbery taste.

The air grew thick with tension as the girl pushed herself to her feet, wiping the tingly goo from her eyes.

"I think this means you all win," Ivy remarked dryly.

A monster giggled nervously, and soon most of the citizens were laughing-horrific sounds, but laughter nevertheless. Ivy cracked a grin as she squeezed out her hair.

 _Laughter is certainly better than the alternative._

…...

It was late by the time Ivy trudged back to the Skellington Manor, talking to the wind.

" _You're lucky Ecto-plasm doesn't have an odor,"_ the wind remarked as Ivy scrubbed the dried flakes off her hands.

"Next time I'll bring the jumpsuits," she muttered.

The wind paused as the girl tore a long strip off her forearm. " _Miss Ivy..I am hesitant to say this, but I would advise you to exercise caution around Shock."_

"The quiet kid dressed with the witch hat?" Ivy frowned, digging her nails under a particular tricky spot. "Why?"

The wind sped quickly around the street to check for eavesdroppers before returning to the waiting human. " _There was a...challenge...to Jack's throne some decades ago,"_ the wind began, hesitation clear. " _Shock and her associates...supported the challenge."_

Ivy abandoned her task, crossing her arms and staring into the night sky, her eyes fixed on the waning moon. "What do you mean? Who challenged Jack? Are they still here?"

" _Nowhere that the town has seen,"_ the wind assured. " _Jack defended his position, but the trick-or-treaters have been regarded with suspicion ever since."_

Ivy stayed silent, turning the wind's unanswered questions over in her mind before sticking her hands in her pockets and continue walking. The wind rushed along side her. " _It's most likely nothing, but you still ought-"_

"Don't worry," Ivy smiled. "I'll be careful." She swallowed her questions and decided to lighten the mood. "Do I still have any gunk on my face?"

A cold breeze froze her face and she shut her eyes, ignoring the snag she knew would form in her hair.

" _Left temple,"_ the wind said, amusement plain to hear.

Ivy reached to the offending spot and pulled off the wad she'd missed. "Disgusting," she muttered, flicking the dried green husk onto the cobblestone road.

" _I'm not too fond of it myself,"_ the wind admitted.

Ivy climbed up the steps of the manor, surprised to see Jack standing outside. The skeleton's mouth twitched.

"I see you took part in the competition," Jack said, laughter barely contained.

Ivy gave a weak glare before laughing. "Vinnie made me," she admitted. "I had to do it _four times,_ and the aim only got better."

"Did you improve?" Jack asked.

The human made a grand gesture towards herself. "What does it look like?" She sighed and added, "I don't think being stealthy is my strong suit."

"No worries!" Jack said brightly. "There's 357 days to learn!"

Ivy closed her eyes, trying to ignore the countdown. "What are you doing out here, anyway?" She asked.

Jack gestured towards one of the roofs visible from the manor's porch. When Ivy squinted, she spotted Angus' mother throwing him into the air, where he'd flap a few times before crashing into the roof again. Ivy snickered before remembering her own crashes on Gesch, sobering up instantly.

"I've attended a few of the basic scare classes that he was in," Jack revealed. "He had trouble then, too-he hasn't grown into his wings yet. But he's gotten much better lately."

As if Angus heard, the monster got ten flaps in before crashing again. The two on the steps stayed silent until the moonlight grew too weak for Ivy to see by and she slipped away.

…..…

 _November 9_

 _12:34 am_

Ivy's eyes snapped open, her body tensing as she scanned the room. She tried to keep her breathing steady as she listened to the dead silence.

What had woken her?

Slowly, Ivy became aware of a weight on her left foot, as well as a second pair of breaths, slow and grating.

The room was pitch black except for a sliver of moonlight at the foot of the bed. She slowly turned her head, seeing a hand-like claw over her leg and a pair of huge yellow eyes hovering just above the moonlight.

 _Ok, Kunze, keep calm,_ she silently chanted. _Maybe it's a cat? A normal, not-creepy cat?_

As Ivy made eye contact, the claw tightened and Ivy's blood froze as she heard a voice.

" _Tailypo...tailypo...have you got my tailypo?"_

When Ivy didn't answer, it hissed louder, the hushed tone adding a grating edge. " _Have you got my tailypo?"_

"Um-" Ivy began, but her voice seemed to set the creature off. It screamed and used Ivy's leg to launch itself forward onto Ivy's bed. The human shrieked and slammed her knee up, hitting the creature away as she fell out of bed.

..…...

Jack paused in his book at the thump on the ceiling, hearing the pad of feet before all fell silent. Had something fallen?

After a moment of tense silence, the pumpkin king shrugged and went back to his book.

..…

Ivy stood on the top of her bed, wielding her straw pillowcase as a weapon. She could hear the _scritch-scratch_ of the thing's nails as it scampered all around her walls, but she couldn't see it. Ivy held her breath, holding the pillow high.

" _I want my tailypo!"_ The thing screeched as it dropped from above. Ivy screamed as she felt claws dig into her shoulder. She swung her pillow blindly and the creature fell off, but Ivy was done taking chances.

She dropped her pillow and dove for the door, hearing the skid of the thing as it chased after her.

She burst through the doors of the brightly lit library, barley hearing Jack's surprised yell. She leapt up onto the table, swearing as the thing tried to scramble up after her.

Jack appeared and grabbed the thing by the scruff of the neck, holding it up calmly. The creature twisted and clawed, but Jack held firm.

"What the _hell_ is that?" Ivy screeched, her socked feet growing colder by the second.

It was black all over and had long pointed ears, with silver claws and teeth. The fur was matted and torn, and Ivy felt her stomach turn when she saw a bloodied mess where a tail should be.

" _It's got my tailypo!"_ The thing whined, giving a few more half hearted swipes. Jack walked to the window and dropped the creature down, a long " _taaaaiiilly!"_ signalling it's absence. Jack closed the window and walked back towards Ivy, amused by the confounded look on the human's face.

"We call him the tailypo," Jack explained, "for obvious reasons. "

"That thing tried to kill me!" Ivy squeaked.

"Nonsense." Jack waved his hand at her. "It was most likely attracted to your hair-it is the same color, after all. It might have chewed it, but nothing major."

"Wonderful," Ivy grouched, holding up a strand of her hair, still tangled from the wind. A sudden memory of her little brother, Anton, humming and (painfully) brushing her hair set off a deep pang within her chest.

"How many monsters do you have in this town?" Ivy asked, leaping down from the table and trying to shake off her remaining chills.

The skeleton grabbed a thick black book, wiping the dust off and setting the book on a lower table, beckoning for Ivy to come closer. "This book holds a record of every monster and their arrival, since before Halloween was even given it's name," he explained, turning through the coarse yellow pages. "I generally explain as much as I can to the new arrivals, then have them sign if they wish to become members of the town."

"You can refuse?" Ivy asked, eyebrows raising.

"It's only happened to me once," Jack admitted. "They wanted no part in any of the town's functions and decided to roam this world instead."

Ivy let her eyes scan the pages, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of names. Some she knew, _(Frankenstein, 1818,) (Aragog, 1998,) (Gretchen, 1692,)_ but others had a dark slash through their number entry. "What's this mean?" She asked, pointing to a pattern of Arabic letters with a crossed out _649_.

Jack sighed. "That means they've left Halloween Town...or died out."

Ivy's jaw dropped. "You can _die_ here?"

"Not by human standards," Jack rushed to assure. "A fall, injury, lack of body parts, so on-that doesn't send you to a second grave. It's more of a...loss of fear on a large scale."

Ivy flipped to the end of the book, raising an eyebrow. "999 current residents?" She asked, remembering the surge of monsters she'd seen the first night.

Jack studied the human in front of him, slowly turning the signature's pen in front of him. Shaking his skull, the king tucked the pen back onto the shelf before turning back to Ivy.

The human looked far lankier without the bulkiness of her jacket, and Jack started when Ivy rolled up the cuff of her jeans, where three deep scratches of red slowly trickled blood. Ivy muttered something in her native tongue as she swiped away the blood and applied pressure to her ankle.

"Does it... hurt?" Jack asked in morbid fascination, trying in vain to remember what pain felt like.

"Not yet," Ivy answered in a strained voice, releasing her ankle. "But it's gonna sting like a _hündin_ later." She rolled the cuff back down and turned back to her book, discomfort forgotten when she spotted Jack's name. "There was a king before you?"

The joking tone went over Jack's skull as the king turned even whiter, grateful that Ivy wasn't looking at him. "I...y-yes, there's been many," he stammered.

Ivy kept her head down, eyes narrowing at Jack's unease, mentally filing it away before changing the subject. "How often does that tailypo-thing come by?"

Jack almost sighed with relief. "It may appear for scraps, but it prefers to roam the woods."

"I've never even _heard_ of it," Ivy admitted, her eyes still fixed on Jack's elegant scrawl.

Jack smiled. "We have our own little-know myths," he said, pulling up a chair next to the girl. "And you said once you were German? He's better known in the American Midwest."

Ivy snickered. "I'll ask my dad about him, then. He lived in the middle of Idaho for half his life."

Jack frowned. "How did he get from there to Europe?"

"He enlisted in the Air Force," Ivy explained, thinking of her dad showing her around the planes he flew. "He got sent to Germany, where he met my mom, who was working in my aunt's shop."

Jack mulled over the information, his mental picture of Ivy becoming clearer as more puzzle pieces fell into place.

"Have you got any family?" Ivy asked, breaking the skeleton out of his thoughts.

Jack shook his skull. "I didn't come from the other world-I'm just a Halloween symbol."

Ivy closed the book, leaning towards the pumpkin king. "So what did you think when you came to my world?"

Jack's sockets widened with glee. "I got enough idea for Halloween to last me a century!" He looked thoughtfully at the girl across from him. "What do you think of mine?"

Ivy chewed her lip. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "My opinion keeps changing." She gave Jack a sly smile. "I will say this-it's definitely _not_ what I would have expected."

The human rolled her shoulders and yawned, the adrenaline from the tailypo finally wearing off. She pushed back her chair and stretched, walking carefully towards the door. "Well, I'm gonna try to go back to sleep," she declared. "Let me know if anybody else tries to break in."

"If you say so," Jack called, putting the book back on the shelf. A human phrase popped into his mind, and before he could stop himself he added, "have a pleasant rest."

Ivy stopped and stared, cocking her head and slowly grinning. "And a horrid night to you, too." With that, she turned and climbed the stairs to her room, giving one last check of her window and door bolts before falling asleep.

* * *

 **As I said to Tmntfan4ever, I'm standing on the brink of a double tech week, but chapter 14 is already in the works-you _will_ have an update! **

**Have a wonderful week everybody!**

 **-Aria**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello, everybody!**

 **The shows have been going really well, (we sold out both of the past two weekends!) but there's still one more weekend to go. Not sure what I'm going to do with the four hours I'll get back...but definitely write some longer chapters!**

 **Corona Pax: Thanks for your shout-out as well! Your theory on Jack's pain (or lack thereof) is correct- younger monsters do feel it, more strongly if they came from the human world, but it dulls as time goes on. And I wish I'd thought of that dialogue during the scare game! It's hilarious! And thankfully Jack is getting a little easier for me to write, but let me know if anybody slips out of character! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Artistgirl16: Tailypo freaked me out when I was younger, so I knew he had to come in somehow. As for the trick-or-treaters...they'll show up again!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: I'm glad you're liking Ivy & Jack! There's much more to be done with the two of them! **

**Dolphinlover231: Thank you so, so much! I'm thrilled you like this story, and I hope the rest of the story is up to par!**

 **Guest: I'm glad you're back! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing-I look forward to hearing from you again!**

 **Tmntf4ever: Thanks! I'll do my best to make sure that this fic remains original and different-I know how frustrating Fanfiction deja vu can be!**

 **CrazyGlitch: Welcome and thank you!**

* * *

CHAPTER 14

 _November 9_

 _5:22 am_

If the wind had a face, it would have smiled.

The temperature had dropped drastically overnight, and the pressure along with it. The air was building for a storm, and the wind was all to eager to deliver. The wind sped along the streets with renewed energy, thundering around the now empty shack of the witches, caused waves to form in the fountain water, and bent the trees along the forest line as the clouds grew thicker.

The wind darted next to the Skellington Manor, where Jack was scribbling away of a stack of yellow paper, and Ivy was still asleep, her arm tucked under her head and her face drawn up tight.

An idea came to the wind and it sped away, moving into the forest, at last finding the clearing where Ivy had first fallen.

The wind flew up through the twisted tunnel of trees, all linking together to form a solid tree trunk. The air grew damp and dark, but as the scent of pumpkins faded, the wind found the curve of the door.

Or, where the door _would_ be. But the knob had vanished.

The wind slammed against the smooth wood in frustration, but it was no use. The door had disappeared.

Undeterred, the wind shot though the hollow branches of the tree, growing smaller and smaller until only a wisp of a breeze came through a knot in the tree's wood.

The wind weakly circled the tree before ghosting along the forest floor, slowly growing stronger as it reached the edges of Sindelfingen, Stuttgart.

It was far colder above than it was in Halloween Town, and as the wind's power grew, the human pulled their coats close against the bite.

The wind wasn't' exactly sure what it's intent was, but nevertheless roamed the streets, flitting over a kindergarten, (and scattering leaves at the children,) before a familiar sound floated through the air-wheels against stone.

The wind picked up speed and raced towards it, coming out onto a large outdoor park, filled with human on the same boards as Ivy rode. The wind noted helmets and other protection that Ivy never wore, giving an invisible sigh as one girl wiped out, crashing onto a set of rails before shaking his head and trying again.

 _The opening is shut,_ the wind breathed to the invisible humans. _How can Ivy-_

"You think Kunze will be back soon?" A boy who looked slightly older than Ivy asked.

"You know how she gets," another boy replied, unbuckling his helmet and wiping his forehead. "This is a new record, though-it's been almost a month."

The wind's growing rage at the nonchalant attitude of the humans faded into confusion. Ivy had been in town perhaps a week and a half, but certainly not a month!

" _Hast du Tomaten auf den Augen?"_ The first boy scoffed. "Ever since the Unity Day show she's been out of sorts. I texted her on Halloween to see if she ws going to the base or coming with us, but she didn't answer."

"I wouldn't blame her if she did go," the other admitted. "Americans have _Süßes oder Saures_ down cold."

A girl walked past the two, causing the boys to snicker. The girl halted and fixed the two with a glare. "She's just sulking, as usual, because she couldn't show off."

All three human shuddered as a bitter cold wind blew through the park. The girl with the purple glasses shivered and pulled her jacket close.

"You going to try and take her spot, Abendroth?" The boy taunted.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "What is there to take?"

The the wind's surprise, the boys laughed. "Well, Bezata, I guess it's hard to see when you're so far below."

The girl gripped her board so tightly her knuckles turned white. She spun on her heel and walked away, the boys high-fiving behind her. The first one pulled out a small device and leaned against a wall. "I'm going to call and tell her what her what she's missing," the boy grinned, putting the phone to his ear.

A moment later, he pulled it down, frowning. "Must be off."

"Forget Ivy, man," his friend shrugged, tugging his hat over his ears against the wind's chill and kicking up his board like Ivy did. "Let's try the flips again."

CRACK!

Ivy groaned as her body jumped, shoving her head under the pillow, the light from her watch lighting the area under the sheet.

 _8:43 am_

Lighting struck the top of the manor, causing Ivy's ears to ring. Another sound accompanied the boom, prompting the human to stick her head out of the covers curiously.

Ivy crawled across the bed and plopped her elbows on the window sill, staring in confusion at the sight through the window.

Rain streaked down the window and pounded on the roof, but something small kept hitting the manor with small pliniks!

"Hail?" Ivy muttered, reaching to unhook the window.

The human stuck her head out, stretching her hand to collect rainwater and-

 _"Pumpkin seeds, Miss Ivy."_

"Hey!" Ivy yelled, clapping her hands over her ears. "Take the volume down a notch!"

 _"Apologies, Miss Ivy,"_ the wind said, louder than ever. _"Storms do bring a bit more...excitement from me."_

"No kidding," Ivy muttered, wincing. "Can the whole town hear you?"

 _"Much more so than normal,"_ the wind answered, amused.

"So it rains pumpkin seeds here?" Ivy asked, gathering another handful.

 _"The only gardener we have tends to the forest trees,"_ the wind said. _"We have to grow pumpkins somehow._ "

Ivy snickered, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. "Wish my world did that," she remarked, leaning back into the room. "Mind if I close up?"

 _"Naturally, Miss Ivy. I'll speak with you later."_

Ivy shut the window and toweled off her damp hair, hearing the manor shake as the wind sped away. The human slipped her shoes on and shivered from the water droplets trailing down her back. She opened the door, startled by the smell of smoke.

Feuer! Ivy mentally screamed as she instinctively dropped to the floor. The hall was still clear, and Ivy's panic turned to confusion when she heard Jack's sigh of, "Oh, dear."

"Jack?" Ivy called between coughs, getting to her feet and hurrying to the top of the staircase. "What's happening? Something's burning!"

"Hello, Ivy!" Jack appeared at the foot of the stairs, calmly wiping black smudges off his skull. "Of course there's burning! I've got pie!"

"Pie?" Ivy asked in confusion, hesitantly coming down the stairs. She stopped at the seventh stair, where she was eye level with Jack.

"A pumpkin king can't call himself such unless he is knowledgeable about all pumpkins can do," Jack recited, bobbing on his heels.

"Burn?" Ivy questioned sarcastically. She held back a grin as Jack scowled.

"Well, naturally! Come on; it'll be horrid, I promise!" Jack lead the way into a surprisingly well-lit kitchen.

"Now _that_ , I believe," she muttered, reluctantly following.

Ivy ignored the skeleton's offered hand a she climbed up a tall chair, where a pumpkin pie sat in the center of the table. It's exterior was pitch black, and Ivy wrinkled her nose as some remaining smoke drifted by. Jack spun a bone white knife and the pie suddenly had twelve orange lines bleeding though it.

Ivy leaned her elbows on the table as Jack helped himself to a slice, perching sideways on another chair. He slid a dark plate across to the human , who cocked her head at the burn flakes before her hunger won out and she took a bite.

Ivy's eyes widened as she saw the bright orange interior of her slice at the same moment the taste of pumpkins exploded across her tongue. The blackened edge worked almost like a s'more, and she felt a trickle of energy flow through her. It was a welcome change from her dwindling bread supply from the witches.

"That is awesome," Ivy declared, her eyes glazing over. Jack almost laughed as she inhaled another bite.

"It's not burned enough form me, " he admitted. Ivy shook her head vigorously.

"No, trust me. It's perfect."

"I'll take your word for it," the kind said, amused. He suddenly noticed the frizzy top of her head as her hair dried. "Have you been out?"

The human shook her head again, swallowing her bite. "Just opened a window," she answered before quirking an eyebrow. "Nice seeds, by the way."

Jack glanced at the front windows, where he saw the flash of white seeds hit the dusty glass. Behind his back, Ivy snuck another slice of pie.

"Speaking of seeds, I hate to check on the trees today," Jack said. "Would you like to come?"

Ivy choked on her slice, staring into the downpour. "You mean…" as she saw Jack tilt his head in confusion, the girl shook it off. "Uh, sure. I guess."

She held in her questions ( why do trees need to be checked on?) by taking another slice of pie.

…...

Jack stared up into the sky, hands tucked behind his back as water and hit his skull. His long legs allowed him to step over puddles and tread lightly across mud. He loved taking walks when the town was almost silent.

 _"Scheiße!"_

Well, _almost_ silent.

The human behind Jack was not so happy, hissing as she slipped on the cobblestone (again). She spat out a seed and turned her jacket collar up.

 _If I ever fall down another tree, I'm bringing a suitcase!_ She growled mentally as she clawed her wet hair out of her eyes.

 _"Miss Ivy?"_ The wind asked, whizzing around her.

The human flapped her hands in the air. "Not now, Wind! You're knocking me over!"

The wind pulled back instantly, allowing Ivy to clamor to her feet. "I'm gonna have pumpkins growing out of my ears," she muttered.

 _"It's a possibility,"_ the wind agreed. _"Do be sure to check them."_

"Wait, what?"

"Ivy!" Jack called from ahead. The human hurried forward, wiping madly at her ears the whole time.

They came under a tree line close to town, where the branches were so tightly woven together it gave impression of a (somewhat leaky) roof.

As Ivy shook water off her, the skeleton knocked on the base of a few trees, slipping through the dark shadows.

Ivy wrung out her hair, muttering, "when this whole thing is over I am going to camp out next to the boiler with a…" She trailed off as she noticed Jack's absence. "Jack?" She called, stepping through the trees curiously. The day was already dark, and the branches only blocked the light more. The air grew right and oddly muffled, making Ivy all to conscious of her own breathing.

Something stirred off to the human's right, and her head whipped to follow it. "Hello?" She called instinctively, wincing at the stereotype.

Forget it, Ivy thought. I'll keep quiet, maybe head back to the-

 _CRRRR-RZZZZZ!_

The unmistakable sound of a chainsaw started up, and Ivy bolted to the side as a tall figure wielding the source of the noise turned to face her.

For a moment the human stood there, the bizarre urge to laugh hysterically bubbling up as her mind raced to explain the situation. _I'm under the earth and facing a dude with a chainsaw wearing a mask that looks like it's made out of Crocs_!

 _"Was zur Hölle!_ " Ivy managed, her body reacting and carrying her back the way she'd come.

As soon as there was enough light, Ivy grabbed a tree branch and hauled herself up, gripping the wood as she climbed.

She thought she heard shouting, but the human tuned it out and wound herself tightly around a particularly thick branch. She kept an eye on the figure, who appeared at the base of the tree and cocked it's head curiously at her. Jack popped up behind it, motioning for the figure to turn the chainsaw off. He seemed to sigh before calling up, the wind carrying his voice to the girl.

"Ivy, this is Jason, our tree-manager. Do come down."

"You know," Ivy hollered, "I'd like just one day where nothing tries to kill me!"

Jack stared into the sky, wondering what he'd done to deserve the situation.

"Though excessive, Jason's...tools...allow for him to shape the trees into eerie shapes," he explained wearily, gesturing to the monster beside him, who had begun to awkwardly shift his feet. Encouraged by Ivy turning to listen to him, he added, "and his human-chasing days are long over!"

 _"Sprich nicht mit mir, du verrückter Mann!_ " The human snapped, resuming her death grip on the tree.

Jason set his chainsaw down, settling himself next to it. Jack rubbed his skull and contemplated having the wind blow Ivy from her perch when said entity whistled up through the trees. After a moment, the human began to hesitantly clamor down. The monsters waited patiently until she was just above their heads.

Jason blinked owlishly at Ivy, who glared until he looked away.

"He had go somewhere when he died," Jack said, hating the silence. "Now he grows and sculpts trees in both worlds. It's not proper etiquette to imply that he'd cause harm."

Ivy scanned her mind, Jason's mask suddenly matching a movie her friends had seen years ago. Ivy cursed her past self for not paying attention, trying to remember something important. _Water?_ She wondered.

"I guess it comes in handy," she grumbled, taking care to sound casual. "There's enough water out there to drown a girl."

Jason flinched, Ivy mentally filing it away before speaking again. "And not to add insult, but are you going to use that thing on me?" She asked, nodding to the chainsaw that lay forgotten on the forest floor.

Jason hesitated, looking to Jack and flinching again under the king's glare. He shrugged and Ivy rolled her eyes, muttering "good enough," before dropping to the floor. She straightened her spine, slightly pleased upon seeing how Jason looked almost as small next to Jack as she did. "So, what exactly did you need to check?"

Jack nodded to the monster, who slipped away before the chainsaw noise built again. "He prefers to stay away from town," Jack explained, gesturing for the human to follow him out of the forest. "So we gave him this job. I monitor his progress and speak to him. Well, at him." He sighed, which sounded louder in his skeleton body. "We don't really see him much outside Halloween itself. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Ivy felt a twinge of guilt for her panic. "It's my fault; I shouldn't have freaked out." She hesitated, turning her collar up again. "He seemed okay once he put that thing down."

Jack gave a thin smile before they both walked out into the rain again.

...

Ivy stood dripping in front of a small fire as Jack pulled several books off the shelves, making a few notes before shoving them back into the small spaces they'd come from. He held a letter from the mayor that had been tucked into his door, no doubt filled with question about next Halloween. The king rubbed his skull before an idea struck him and he turned to the human.

"Ivy?" He asked, the human's small " _hm?_ " encouraging him to continue. "What would you say is the best part of Halloween?"

Ivy sat down, loving the feeling of heat on her face. "The t-town or the holiday?"

"Holiday," Jack clarified, frowning at the girl's stutter.

The human shrugged, rubbing her hands together. "I'm not the best person to ask that," she admitted, wondering how to phrase her situation. "I mean, my friends on the base have huge parties each year, but outside that…" she shrugged, "it's just...not a big thing."

Silence fell over the room, and Ivy panicked, mentally kicking herself. "But, I mean, I love the atmosphere of Halloween," she rushed to add. "The whole feel of it, you know?"

"I suppose I can understand that," Jack acknowledged after a pause, his skull spinning with the thought of Halloween not being a priority.

"W-What about you?" Ivy asked, desperate to move past her blunder.

Jack stared at the human, formatting his response while trying to decode the girl's behavior. Why was she shaking? Had he scared her?

"My favorite part is the scares," he began, childlike excitement coloring his voice. "The thrill of sneaking through the shadows, following someone, just waiting to show off your power!"

 _Like a high-stakes game of hide & seek,_ Ivy thought, grinning at Jack's enthusiasm. The fire was starting to take some of the chill from her as her hands stopped shaking and she fought to control her speech. "How long you been doing this?" She asked casually, remembering Jack's hesitation about the kings from the night before.

"I've been in Halloween Town for 256 Halloweens," Jack admitted. "Not very long-and only 103 of those have I led the town."

"Not bad," Ivy said, impressed. She peeled of her jacket to dry and added, "How did you get to be king?"

Jack moved away, not noticing Ivy's eyes fixed on him. "I was chosen by my successor," he said stiffly. "Many had the opportunity, but I was chosen."

"I've been there," Ivy muttered. _Except I'm the one that got passed over._

Jack turned back to the girl, his question stalled as he noted the human blinking hard, her jacket stretched across her lap. He stared in fascination as her eyes drifted shut and her breathing slowed.

"Ivy?" He called, causing the human to jolt up. "What are you-"

"Never mind," the girl cut in, embarrassed. Shaking her head, she grabbed a random book and raised her eyes at the title.

 _"'The Care of Detachable Bodies'?_ " She asked.

Jack fiddled with his bow tie. "It's hard being a skeleton!" He protested. "If dirt and water get in my joints, I wear down!"

Ivy snickered, and the two lapsed into a comfortable silence as the rain pounded outside.

* * *

 **Some more familiar faces are coming soon!**

 ** _Hast du Tomaten auf den Augen: (_ Do you have tomatoes in your eyes) - used when somebody isn't seeing the obvious. **

**_Süßes oder Saures:_ Trick or Treating.**

 _ **Sprich nicht mit mir, du verrückter Mann**!:_

 **See you all soon,**

 **-Aria**


	15. Chapter 15

**Happy New Year, everybody!**

 **I finished this chapter last Wednesday, believe it or not, but the idea of posting on the very first day of 2017 is very satisfying.**

 **I was in Paris for Christmas break and got the chance to see some wonderful sights! I hope you all enjoyed your winter holidays and celebrations.**

 **Corona Pax: As always, your review brought a huge smile to my face. I love the idea of movie nights in Halloween Town!**

 **Artistgirl16: I'm glad you like the German! It'll definitely be peppered throughout. Please do let me know if it gets out of hand.**

 **Dolphinlover231: Thank you! I had a lot of fun writing the last chapter. And keep your metal eye of Ivy's hometown...they're definitely important!**

 **Tmntfan4ever: Thank you! The show is going amazing, and I'm glad you're liking the interactions.**

 **Guest: I'm so, so glad you're liking this little journey Ivy is taking us all on. I hope to put out the best that I can, and I especially love interacting with amazing people in reviews. Thank you for reading!**

 **And now, let's return to Halloween Town, where two familiar monsters await...**

* * *

CHAP 15:

Nov 10

7:46 am

The pumpkin sun sent it's first rays through the streets of Halloween, and two figures began to move.

Both hesitantly made their way through a large hall, peering around corners before lifting the locks of front doors and slipping out.

One was Ivy.

The other was looking for her.

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Ivy pulled her beanie over her ears to block the slight chill, grateful that the rain had halted in the night. The silent streets put the girl on edge-it hadn't been a rest night, after all- but she pushed it out of her mind, enjoying the chance to move around freely. Geschwindigkeit was tucked under her arm, but one look at the slick cobblestones and she decided not to risk it.

The human passed the window of Witch Tricks, pausing to stare at a glow worm curled up in a lantern. As though sensing her gaze, the worm perked up and a soft yellow glow lit up the window. Ivy grinned and moved on, nodding to a monster who stared curiously from across the road.

A shadow fell over her and she stiffly turned her head, expecting to see a monster looming over her.

To her surprise, it was a book sign.

Blinking at the odd sight, she peered closer to a note taped on the window, shaky handwriting saying, _Come in!_

Shrugging, Ivy straightened her shirt and grasped the doorknob.

"Let go, fool!" A clipped voice hissed. Ivy snatched her hand back and stared in fascinated horror as a face twisted around the knob.

"Youngsters today need to learn some patience," the knob grumbled, clicks turning nevertheless. The door swung open and the knob paused to grunt, "go on, if you must."

"Uhh...thanks," Ivy said, wishing she'd passed the place all together. She stepped past the knob, who was still grumbling about 'his day' and 'respect for the old door."

Although she wasn't consciously aware of it, Ivy's eyes had gotten better at adjusting to the dark. The early morning light soon let her see enormous shelves of books and notepads that rivaled Jack's.

"Fearful creatures, huh," she muttered. "More like a bunch of bookworms."

"I should hope not," a voice came from a corner. "They make snacks of my collection."

Ivy bit her tongue and jumped, resisting the urge to wield Geschwindigkeit as a weapon. "Who's that?" She asked, seeing a shadow stand and cock it's head.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" The monster stated, it's voice deep and steady. "Seeing as you're the one in my home."

"I-I'm Ivy Kunze," the human stammared. She thought momentarily of the escape route behind her, then straightened her back. I'm done running in fear. "Sorry to disturb you, but the sign-"

"Ah yes, I apologize. I simply wasn't expecting many visitors today. Please, come in."

Ivy heard the thud of feet and suddenly light from a skylight came spilling in.

A hulking, stitched up monster tied the skylight curtain back, giving Ivy time to process what stood before her.

"I've got some tea, if you want," Frankenstein's monster offered. "Take a seat, Miss."

"Ivy, please," She insisted, the formal tone reminding her of the wind. She hesitantly sat in an armchair that was far too big, her legs barely touching the floor. The creature handed her an equally large mug, and Ivy was pleasantly surprised by the minty odor.

"Wintergreen tea," the Creature said, a hint of pride coloring his voice as he sat across from the human, his chair matching the eight foot frame. "I know quite a bit about forest teas, though I've found the other monsters are...not as fond of them."

"Too human," Ivy quipped, taking a sip of the tea before she realized what she'd said. She'd learned about the book and real Frankenstein's castle in school, and stilled as she remembered the creature's experience with humans. "I-I mean-"

"You're quite right," the Creature mused, his tone as calm as ever. "It's a human habit, but I'm rather fond of certain human traditions."

"Really? I would have thought after all that-" _Oh brilliant Kunze, I don't think you've put your foot in your mouth enough._

The Creature met her eyes for the first time, his stitched yellow skin almost glowing in the sunlight. "So my tale is still being told in the human world?"

Ivy kept quite, unsure of how to answer. You're sat talking to a fictional character. Isn't this like breaking the fourth wall or something?"

"...Yeah, you could say that," Ivy mumbled. "How did you know?"

The monster looked at the human sat in front of him, eyes fixed on her cup to avoid his gaze. He recognized the signs of discomfort and tilted his head, confused. Was it his hideous form, or something else?

"My tale played it's part, and when I found my way to this town, I began to have a variety of dreams with a human who would go on to tell my story to the world."

"Mary Shelley," Ivy breathed. "That is so cool!"

The Creature found himself taken aback by the girl's enthusiasm. He'd never had a human look at him in _excitement_ before.

"So she wrote your book," Ivy thought aloud, "and now lots of people know about you!"

The Creature flinched. "I was...not aware of her intentions at the time, but I can see now that they are...necessary."

"Necessary? What do you mean?" Ivy asked, tilting her head as she sipped her tea.

"Like all of the...monsters here, I rely on my essence being known. Were humans to stop thinking of me, fearing me, I would simply...fade away."

Ivy almost choked on her tea, staring at the slumped form of the Creature. "Wait, what?"

The Creature nodded, taking a nearby book and absent-mindedly rubbing the cover. "I must be feared for all of eternity, or cease to exist. It can be difficult to tell, at times, which would be worst."

Jack said the same thing, Ivy thought to herself. ' _Loss of fear on a wide scale' or something_..."Does it have to be fear?" Ivy asked, her mind racing. "Or can it just be any kind of legacy?"

The Creature tilted it's head. "I hadn't thought of it any other way, so I have little idea."

"It must," Ivy stated. "I mean, most people in my time understand where you're coming from. I haven't met many people who like Victor very much."

The Creature flinched again at hearing his creator's name, but then what the girl said sunk in. "Humans who understand?" He asked skeptically.

"Well...to an extent." Ivy said. Murders a bit far, but… "the whole outcast thing, though? We get it. Heck, I'm a poster child for the whole thing."

While confused by the girl's terminology, the sentiment caused the Creature to stay quiet, staring at his book.

 _"Dumpfbacke!"_ The girl hissed as some of her tea spilled onto her arm, the liquid just warm enough to sting. The Creature glanced up in alarm, but Ivy waved a hand as she wrapped her jacket around her forearm to absorb the tea. "Sorry about that-"

" _You speak German?_ " The Creature asked, his native language flowing easily.

Ivy started, mentally kicking herself. _His story starts in Germany, idiot!_

 _"Of course_!" She responded, suddenly remembering her spill. " _Sorry about the tea."_

The Creature waved it off. _"There's plenty where that came from. Most of the evergreen trees are near the forest line."_

Ivy frowned. _"How often do you leave for refills?"_ She asked, keeping her tone casual.

The Creature took the girl's cup, feeling a surge of satisfaction when he saw she'd drunk almost all of it _. "Once every two weeks, I suppose. But I enjoy wandering outside the town. It's much more...still."_

Ivy nodded, filing the information away. S _o monsters can leave, but I can't._ The human narrowed her eyes, only to be startled from her thoughts.

" _Where are you staying in Halloween Town?_ " The Creature asked curiously.

Ivy stared at Frankenstein's monster, thinking. _He doesn't know I'm with Jack? Will he tell me what's going on if-_

 _"Because my knob was taking about a human staying with Jack, though I assumed he was just making things up again…"_

Ivy mentally cursed.

" _Just for a little while,_ " she said. _"At least until the witches come back._ " She'd try for information later. The oddity of having a teatime chat with Frankenstein's monster almost made her want to laugh.

" _Well, I hope you'll_ forgive _my long overdue welcome,"_ the Creature said, looking uneasy.

Ivy put on a grin and glanced around at the shelves, decided to change the subject. _"How come you have so many books_?" She asked.

The Creature turned his head to look at his collection, his face twisting and contorting into what could barely pass as a smile. _"I enjoy acquiring knowledge,"_ he admitted. " _I also hold all records of monsters in this town, such as my own book and others."_

Ivy's eyes widened as she glanced at the books in a new light. " _Can I look?"_

" _Naturally!_ " The Creature brightened up, waving an enormous hand to the collection. " _In fact, as a welcome, you may borrow one."_

 _"Really?_ " Ivy's jaw dropped. She generally wasn't big into books, but then the thought of information came to her. _"Got any on early Halloween Town? I'm curious."_

 _"I believe I have some…"_ the Creature's palm hovered over a box, unaware of the human's watchful gaze as he shook his head and grabbed a book from the shelf. " _This might suffice! A history of the town's founding!"_

 _Oh, joy_. Ivy held in the sarcastic comment, accepting the heavy book from the monster. " _Thanks! When do you want it back?"_

 _"I have no real time limit,_ " the Creature assured her. _"You may return it when you have completed it, and perhaps…" here the monster hesitated, "you are welcome to come back any time, of course."_

Ivy blinked in surprise, then gave the monster a nod. _"Will do."_

"You had best go back to Jack," the monster said, switching back to English. "Tell him I said hello."

Ivy frowned at the monster's suddenly stiff stance, but pushed her curiosity down. "Well..ok. _Tschuss!_ "

And with that, the human pushed open the door, ("watch the knob, girl, I don't want you smoothing out my scratches!") and disappeared down the street.

The Creature made himself another cup of coffee, staring at the chair that the human had inhabited. The prospect of the girl living with Jack unnerved him. The Creature remained one of the first residents of the town, and had seen almost all throughout the centuries. Frankenstein's monster sighed into his cup, Ivy's face stuck in his mind.

He hoped Ivy would have a better fate than the last two humans.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ivy stared grimly at the dusty green book cover as she walked down the street, her feet unconsciously avoiding potholes. Her mind ached with the task that lay ahead of her, but she knew it was necessary.

Ivy rounded the corner, not expecting the slam right into someone-a very _soft_ someone.

"Sally?" Ivy gasped, hardly noticing that she'd fallen on her back in the middle of the street. The rag doll lay a few feet from her, her large eyes widening as she saw the human.

"Ivy! I've been looking for you!" The rag doll stumbled to her feet, her almond eyes widening in alarm as her ankles wobbled. "Oh dear, not again-"

Ivy leapt up, steadying the doll. "What do you mean, looking for me? Finkelstein sent you?"

"No!" Sally protested, finally standing still. "He...he doesn't know where I am."

For a moment the human looked confused, then a smirk that made Sally shiver appeared. "Sally, you sly gal."

The rag doll blinked at the words, but Ivy held up her hand. "That's awesome. High five."

The rag doll stared at the human, causing Ivy to sigh. "Hold up you hand, then slap it against mine."

Sally hesitantly put her hand up and gently pressed it against Ivy's.

The human rolled her eyes. "We'll work on it." She shoved her hands in her pockets. "What can I do for you, Sally?"

Sally twisted her hands, her nerves heightened now that Ivy actually stood before her. "Y-You haven't been coming by lately. Did I do something wrong?"

Ivy's mouth fell open as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She'd _completely_ forgotten.

"I, uh…" Ivy franticly tried to assure the rag doll who gazed mournfully at the human. "I just got mixed up in a few things, that's all. Like, now I'm living with Jack and-"

"King Jack?" Sally asked, blue cheeks tinting a bit. "Is he...he…" She scrambled for a word, frustration on her stitched face.

"Is he what? What do you mean?"

"That!" Sally cried, making Ivy jump. "Is he not mean?"

Ivy frowned at the grammar, trying to find a better word for Sally. "What? Like, nice?"

It didn't fit for the rag doll, but she decided it was good enough. "Yes, is he nice?"

Ivy shrugged, shoving her hands deep into her front pockets. She rocked on her heels, thinking about Jack's behavior.

"He's pretty nice, I guess," she eventually mumbled. "I mean, it's not what I'd expect from the King of Frights or whatever, but there it is."

Sally tilted her head, confused. Ivy's words fell into place in her mind, but she got the feeling Ivy wasn't saying what she meant. She felt the urge to talk about something else build up, and she twisted her fingers again.

"Did you ever...ask the witches if they had the supplies to sew?" She asked softly.

Ivy looked relieved. "Um, yeah, actually. I think it's still over at their place. I...I didn't have time to grab it."

Sally brightened up, making Ivy groan. "Can we go look? Would that be alright?"

"I don't see why not," Ivy sighed. "Come on."

Ivy tried to calm her growing apprehension as they drew closer to the witches' shack. The air was deathly still as Ivy pushed open the door, ignoring the stab of guilt as she glanced around the front room.

Sally stared around at the room in fascination while Ivy dug around her old sleeping space, her eyes taking in the various books and broomsticks that the witches had left behind. Ivy mumbled under her breath before holding up the fabric and needles she'd gotten Sally. Eager to leave the shack, Ivy pushed through the door and called back, "Let's go to Jack's. I'm not too keen being in the middle of town, and it's not good for you, either."

"Why not?" Sally asked, hurrying to keep up with the human's brisk pace.

Ivy rolled her eyes. "Do you think the monsters in town are going to just ignore you? No way. These are the nosiest creatures in the universe. We won't have a moment's rest." She glanced at the rag doll. "So unless you feel like playing 20 Questions with every monsters we come across, you'll stick with me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sally refused to go past Jack's gate, her wide eyes scanning the window for a hint of the Pumpkin King's presence. Ivy had grumbled about 'irrational worry' and done quite a bit of muttering in her native language, but eventually settled behind a large stone wall that would hide them from the town's eyes.

"...and that's called backstitching," Ivy explained, trying to remember her aunt's nasally instructions. "It makes sure that your stitch doesn't come undone and you don't waste your time."

"Brilliant," Sally said with her quiet excitement. Ivy held back an eye roll as the doll's fingers flew, connecting the bits of fabric, following the outline Ivy had made with a bit of charcoal. She winced as Sally stabbed the needle through her finger, holding it before her eyes in fascination.

"Your leaves are gonna fall out," she grouched, yanking the needle from Sally's finger. "I don't want to know where the Doc got your skin, and he'll kill me if I've damaged you."

"He will?" Sally asked, horrified. Ivy cocked her head, wondering how Finkelstein would react if Sally completely turned against him.

"...Ok, maybe not," she sighed, "but he won't be too happy with me." She swore as one of her own stitches failed, her cheeks turning dark when Sally leaned over and, not noticing the human's glare, corrected it. "Figures you'd have a knack for it, seeing how you were made."

Sally blinked in confusion. "I thought the Doctor brought me to life with...your lighting?"

Ivy winced at the terminology. "Well, that's...true, but what I meant was…" here she reached over and grabbed the rag doll's arm, turning it so that Sally could see the stitches along her elbow, "you're the same way. The stitches are absolutely terrible, but apparently Finkelstein can sew, too." Her face crinkled at the thought. Do not wanna find out where he learned.

Sally stared at her arm, spellbound. "It's a part of me," she whispered.

"Well, yeah, if you want to get all poetic about it," Ivy shrugged.

 _"SALLY! Where are you?"_

The human and doll's head snapped up as Finkelstein's high voice screeched, crows flying off Jack's roof in alarm. Ivy cursed as she noted that the pumpkin sun had started to fall in the sky. How could she be so careless?

"He's coming this way!" Ivy hissed, suddenly aware of how close the tower was to Jack's place.

"Will he be angry?" Sally asked, her eyes wide with fear.

Ivy studied the rag doll, her mind sketching a map to the tower. "Not if he doesn't catch you," she decided, grabbing Sally's hand. "Come on!"

The human sprinted across Jack's front lawn, weaving in and out of trees that lined the path. She tried not to focus on how odd the leathery texture of Sally's hand was.

"I can barely walk here!" Sally protested, almost tripping over a bush before Ivy's momentum forced her forwards.

"That's the idea!" Ivy shouted, veering around a broken statue. "There's no way the Doc can chase us here! And this path-" she pointed excitedly with her free hand, "-leads to the tower's back exit! And there's your room!" The human skidded to halt, causing Sally to slam into her. "Do you know how to get inside?"

Sally tried to get her thoughts together, not sure if she liked the devious glint in Ivy's eye. "There's a loose cobblestone that unlocks the door-Doctor Finkelstein was fixing it the other day."

"Which cobblestone?" Ivy called, running to check the road. Finkelstein was nowhere in sight.

Sally stared in panic at the mass of stones. "It was...one on the right side of the door…" a marking of a tiny brain caught her eye. "This one!" She pushed, but her leaf filled arms only led to her slipping on the ground.

"SALLY! You'd best not be hiding from me, girl!"

Ivy clenched her fist. "Hurry, Sally!"

"I can't!" The rag doll all but cried. _I can't let Ivy down!_

"Oh, for heaven's-" the girl ran back to Sally's side, slamming her hand onto the rock. "On three, push. Got it?"

Sally nodded, trying to muster up determination to match Ivy's.

"One, two, _THREE_!"

After a moment, the rock shifted back, and a click came from the lock. Sally raced over and opened the door, surprised when Ivy bolted inside, grabbing Sally's hand once more.

"Your room, let's go!"

Ivy leaned out of the bars of Sally's window, unease settling when she realized she could no longer hear Finkelstein's call. She spun to face Sally, who stood on shaky ankles near the door. "Ok, here's the plan. You lie down, say you were looking around the tower and then decided to take a nap. If he keeps it up, say you looked in his back garden for food or something. Then,-"

"I'm going to…" Sally fumbled for a word. "Disobey?"

"No, you're going to lie. He won't think you know how to, so he'll assume you're telling the truth."

"That...that doesn't seem right," Sally said timidly.

Ivy stared, mouth agape. "You think he'll be ok with you wandering the town?"

"I won't know until I try!" Sally protested, her will growing stronger.

Ivy's eyes narrowed. "Listen here, Miss Morality-"

The hum of a wheelchair shut the human up, and the sounds of the doctor's mumbling soon reached to two in the tower room.

Ivy threw up her hands. "Brilliant," She hissed. "Fine, you can tell him what you want-but leave me out of it, ok? I don't what any more to do with him."

"Alright," Sally agreed hesitantly. "How are you going to get out?"

"Leave that to me," Ivy grouched. "See you if you get let out."

Leaving Sally's confused face behind her, the human bolted down the ramp and crouched behind the door, waiting for the precious seconds where the doctor would roll past, leaving her to run free.

The door slid open, and as Finkelstein crossed the room to where the 'close' switch was, Ivy held her breath and sprinted for the foliage across the yard, rolling her eyes as she heard Doctor exclaim from inside the tower, "Sally! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you, my dear!"

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By the time Ivy reached the Skellington Manor, the sun was low in the sky, stretching Ivy's shadow across the road. The human picked up the bits of leftover fabric, looking at her own failed stitches before shoving them deep into her pocket.

She trudged through the door, eyes narrowing in suspicion at the silent house. Was Jack still out in town, or-

 _"BOO!"_

A deep growl sounded in her ears and Ivy screamed, falling backwards at the feet of the pumpkin king. Jack laughed, a high pitched sound that made Ivy's ears hurt, before leaning backwards against the wall. "I thought that would work!"

Jaw tight, Ivy pushed herself to her feet, her fear turning to anger. "What was that all about?"

"I was trying something out!" Jack explained though another fit of laughter. "I just didn't expect it to work that well!"

For the first time, Ivy noticed how much light was in the foyer. "Where you above the door?" She asked, staring at the small ledge that sat there. "How come I didn't see your shadow, then?"

Jack wiggled his fingers at her. "That's the secret of the scare, my dear. Slide around the light…"

"And that's what you've been doing all day?" Ivy huffed, her heart rate slowing down.

A frown came onto the skeleton's face. "Not quite. The Doctor came to me not too long ago and said he couldn't find Sally." He shrugged to the human. "Did you see her? I don't know where she might have gone!"

"She can't have gone far," Ivy scoffed. "I sure didn't see her."

"Where were you, anyway?" Jack asked, moving into the sitting room and feeling a strange surge of satisfaction when Ivy followed. "Can't have two disappear in one day!" He joked.

Ivy stared at the back of Jack's skull, unsure if she was off the hook. "I met Frankenstein's monster," she explained, watching as Jack settled into a spiky seat. "We had tea."

Jack brightened. "How is he? I've been meaning to get some books…"

"He lent me one," Ivy offered, thinking of the book's spot on her window ledge. "'Founding Facts to Scare the Mind' or something."

Jack tilted his head. "I had to read that one when I was much younger," he admitted. "Most of the younger monsters did. I don't remember it being terribly fascinating, but maybe it's not what I remembered." He offered Ivy a toothy smile. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'll help if I can."

"Uh...thanks," Ivy stammered. She felt a twinge of guilt of guilt for lying to the skeleton earlier, and felt the sudden urge to get away from Jack. "I think I'll go start it, actually."

Jack frowned as the human all but ran from the room. Was it just a human thing? His mind strayed to Sally once more. _Perhaps I'll go over later to see if she's back. Just to be courteous, of course..._

* * *

 **Happy 2017, everyone! See you next Saturday!**

 **-Aria**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, everybody!**

 **Man, this one was weird to write for some reason, but now I'm pretty happy with it. It's around Spring Break time, so I hope you guys are having/going to have/had wonderful vacations!**

 **Guest: I'm glad you liked Frankenstein! I'm definitely looking to include him and other classic/modern monsters in here, (so if anybody has a specific they wanna see, lemme know,) and I'm glad you're liking the pace! More stuff is going to happen as Ivy gets further drawn into this world, so it'll be interesting to watch!**

 **Dolphinlover231: Thank you so much! The curiosity is certainly fun to play around with, as are all the town interactions. Thanks for reading!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Jack & Sally's crush will _definitely_ pop up. How our human girl will be involved with that, we'll have to see..**

 ***note: for whatever reason, my keyboard keeps changing 'that' to 'than.' I think I fixed it all, but if something doesn't look right, please let me know.**

* * *

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

 _November 11_

 _11:46am_

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Ivy huffed, rubbing her elbows and grimacing at the cold dirt she lay on.

Angus shushed her, the tips of his wings clawing into the dirt nervously as he scanned the streets. The low slope of an abandoned house forced the two to lie flat, the only light trickling through a crack in the wood.

"To start doing more advanced skills, I must frighten my instructor," the bat-child whispered. "He's been expecting it for a couple of days now."

"Do you have _any_ kind of plan?" The human hissed, seeing the wheel of a unicycle ride by.

Angus shifted nervously. "Um...I was hoping _you_ could help me."

Ivy dropped her head to the ground and groaned. "What do _I_ know about any of this?" She snapped, fixing the bat-child with a glare. " _You're_ the one who's been doing it for longer than I've been alive!"

"Well, yeah," Angus stammered, taken aback by Ivy's anger. "But it helps to get someone else." His claws flexed nervously. "Usually I have Rosie with me…"

Ivy rolled her eyes but propped herself up again, trying to focus. "What _can_ you do? Fly around or-"

"That's the _problem!_ " Angus all but wailed. "I'm not _good_ at flying!"

"So, don't fly," Ivy shrugged. Angus' jaw dropped open.

"I can do that?" He asked, tiny eyes wide. "I thought I had to…"

"Hey, I don't know the rules," Ivy said, holding a hand up. "But why do what's expected?"

The elected look faded from Angus' face. "I wanna do well," he whined.

Ivy opened her mouth, a sharp reply ready, but it died as she saw the holes Angus' claws made in the dirt.

"I think I _can_ help," she said, an idea sparking.

XXxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxx

Ivy waded through the sea of monsters, her eyes fixed on Angus' instructor. It had a blocky, clay-like appearance, which Ivy ignored. She closed in on the monster, sending up a prayer that it didn't have any hidden spikes before taking a breath and slamming into its side.

The monster stumbled and turned to look down, where the human Jack kept had fallen, shock on her face.

"Sorry!" The girl gasped, quickly getting up. "I-I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," the monster growled, his dark eyes fixed on the human. Jack had mentioned using the human for scares…

"I'm Ivy," the human said. She grinned widely, and while her teeth weren't sharp, the monster still felt a foreign trickle of fear. "I thought I'd look around the center today...there's more monsters than usual!"

"Jack will be announcing positions available for monsters to apply for, to lead next Halloween," the monster snapped, gritting its teeth. The girl's cheery tone was giving him a headache.

For a moment, Ivy dropped her grin. _No wonder Jack didn't notice me leave…_ Feeling eyes fixed on her, she turned back to Angus' teacher.

"Neat! What do you do?" She asked, grinning once more.

" _Usually,_ I instruct scaring classes," the monster ground out, "teaching young citizens-"

"Like him?" The human asked, her eyes stretching wide as she pointed above the monster's head.

"Like wh-WHAT?" A dark shape plummeted towards the ground, wings flapping almost comically. Every citizen turned at the instructor's shout, politely watching the bat-child spiral down. Angus kept a look of discomfort on his face as he subtly pointed his wings downward, readying his claws, and…

A funnel of dirt erupted from where Angus spun into the earth, claws working to clear a small tunnel. In the dust cloud that followed, Ivy ducked down to scoop some of the larger clumps of dirt over Angus' hole. Then, coughing and waving her hands, she shouted, "Where did he go? What happened?"

A few wing beats of a nearby monster cleared the air, where the instructor stared at the (mostly) smooth ground. "Angus?" He called, a look of panic taking over. "What have you done, you stupid bat?" He turned to the human, who was babbling her theories to a flummoxed monster, ("can he suffocate? What even happened? Do you guys have like an inter-dimensional hole in the ground?") and grabbed her upper arm, ignoring both the soft flesh and the human's squeak of surprise.

"Do you know that bat?" The monster growled, almost relieved to see her eyes widen in shock.

"Uh-kinda? Friend of a friend, and all that-he was talking to me about flying and stuff-"

As she spoke, Ivy slowly counted out the seconds, pulling the monster back over the disrupted dirt. _Hurry up, Angus! How long do you need?_

"Human, if Jack hadn't taken an interest in you, I'd scare you into your second grave," the monster threatened, pausing as a thought occurred to him. "Well, for you I suppose for you it'd be your _first_ grave, but no matter! I won't let you and that bat ruin my chances of-"

There was a rumble beneath both being's feet, and at the last second Ivy twisted her arm free and dove backwards, leaving Angus to shoot out of the earth and knock his instructor flat.

The monster in question screamed and fell back, the other citizens snickering as Angus flitted back to earth, landing awkwardly by his instructor's head.

"Horrid morning, sir!" The bat chirped, and Ivy had to fight to her smile at the shock on the monster's face.

"You-" the monster was sputtering. "I hope you don't think that this qualifies you-"

"I don't know, you looked scared to me," Ivy cut in, looking around at the collective of monsters. "I mean, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that counts."

The monsters passed along eager chatter and a few laughs before someone in the crowd called, "come on, Blocky! Give him an advance!"

Multiple monsters echoed the cry, and soon 'advance Angus' was all that could be heard. The bat turned scarlet and Ivy grinned, about to add her own voice before her eyes met the instructor's.

The monster's beady eyes glared, and for one moment Ivy dropped the facade, allowing a smirk to creep on her face as the instructor re-evacuated the human before it.

Than the moment passed as it threw its hands up, crying, "all right, you beasts! I'll advance him!"

Ivy slipped away, darting around the side of the town hall to where Jack stood, calmly listening to another tirade from the mayor.

"-and what if a monster tried to jeopardize the situation? What if someone tries to invent a new position? What if-"

"-we'll talk to them, and we'll hear them out," Jack cut in smoothly, smile widening as he saw Ivy pushing through the crowd. "Welcome to Designation!" Jack cheered, not noticing the looks the other monsters shot Ivy.

"What exactly is going on?" Ivy huffed, peering up at Jack's (slightly bent) frame. The skeleton grinned at the human, grateful for the break in the chaos of the room.

"We split Halloween's duty into different sections, and monsters are recruited to lead them," he explained.

Ivy's eyebrows rose. "And it doesn't cause any problems?" A distant memory of Dodgers attempting to organize the younger skater's shows swam up, and Ivy winced as she remembered trying (and failing) to herd them all. In fact, one of them had gotten into...into…

Ivy furrowed her brow. _Oh yeah...one of the kids raided Ben's candy stash, they all ate the Happy Hippos and made themselves sick._

Ivy allowed herself a grin, but it slowly faded into a frown. It wasn't long ago... _why couldn't she remember?_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

"Monsters, demons, and those who have yet to decided!" The mayor opened, his face smiling at the crowd. Ivy stood next to Angus, who was massaging his wings carefully. Dirt fell in hunks from his claws, and Ivy gingerly stepped aside to avoid getting hit. _What does it matter, anyway? These clothes are filthy...I really should do something about that..._

"In this, our 2,020th year of Spooks, we are looking to expand our reach to all corners of the worlds and bring as many horrors as we can!" The mayor announced, grinning as though he'd just given the best news in the world. Although, judging from the cheers of the monsters surrounding her, the comparison might not be far off.

Ivy heard the mayor's voice slowly replaced by the thud of her heart in her ears as she became painfully aware of the number of _things_ around her. She hadn't been in a crowd this large since she'd landed. It was easier earlier, when she was helping Angus-focus on one goal, ignore the rest-but reality (bizarre though it was) was creeping in.

A new round of cheers broke the human from her thoughts as Jack stepped forward, his eyes scanning the crowd before giving Ivy a toothy grin. She forced a grin as her heartbeat began to slow down again.

It was far more formal than Ivy thought to give the town credit for. The excitement of the crowd was just barely contained as new section leaders recited an oath of 'sworn duty to uphold the terror and trepidation'.

Categories proved to be amusing as well; Ivy's personal favorite being 'gibbet decoration, for the continued representation of the hallowed haunts.'

"Good thing Salem got the job this year," a tall rat-like citizen muttered to their friend.

"What do you mean?" Ivy asked, eyeing a small form dart up to start mumbling the oath.

The rat's tail twitched. "Salem was...the first falsely accused of witchcraft. They've wanted to try and inspire the fear of the gallows that struck them."

"Oh," Ivy stammered, her mood dropping.

The rat's friend nodded. "Oh, yes. The amount of work than goes into a perfect Gallows Gloom is quite astonishing."

"Good to know," Ivy mumbled.

…...

Finally, Jack stepped forward once again as the new section heads beamed around him. Overlooked monsters had dampened the festive air, with a bit of grumbling as gossip about the new leaders roamed.

Ivy, for her part, had been taught the Halloween Town version of tic-tac-toe by some of the monster children. The game was played with corpse heads for O's and skeleton's fingers for X's that the human _severely_ hoped were purely decoration.

Still, as Jack stepped up, she couldn't help making a quick count of all his fingers.

 _Huh. Maybe he's got extra ones somewhere?_

"My dear friends, this Halloween will prove to be horrifically chilling, with these monsters in charge," Jack beamed as the crowd mustered enough enthusiasm to cheer.

"Now, I want to give something a try this year," Jack announced. "As you all know, our Halloween scares are to spread as much spooky, scary terror we can. And it is always good to see how we can do it better."

The crowd murmured indecisively, while Ivy tilted her head. _What was he going on about?_

Jack made one final scan of the sea of monsters before summoning all the bravo he could. "And that is why I would like Ivy Kunze to be our consultant on human fears."

The town square grew so quiet, Ivy swore the rest of the monster could hear her re-accelerated heart.

 _What? What was he thinking?_

All eyes turned to Ivy, who slowly pushed herself off the ground and stared at Jack.

Oblivious to the tension, Jack motioned for Ivy to come forward. The human shoved her shaking hands into her pockets and at Angus' nudge slowly shuffled forward until she stood before the Pumpkin King.

"Now, there isn't an official oath for you, obviously, as you're the first to hold this position." Jack explained, still giving the horrid toothy grin. "For now, simply repeat after me: _Timore coniungit nos."_

"Uh, Jack?" A voice asked hesitantly. "Don't only...uh.. _.citizens_ get held to the vow?"

Jack stared first at the monster, then down at the girl, who kept her mouth shut. A rage had built up so fiercely and quickly than she was almost shocked by it.

"While Ivy is not a true citizen, her presence offers a new Halloween outlook," Jack explained. "The oath will hold the same meaning."

 _Not if I don't understand what it means,_ Ivy almost spoke.

She opened her mouth, jaw set, ready to deny the post, but Jack was speaking to her now.

"Ivy, will you work alongside us to ensure that Halloween is full of frights for all?"

The rage melted away as a realization hit the human. _If I'm supposed to be the expert on human fears, maybe I can figure out some answers about this place. They are giving me an actual position...beats driving myself nuts for a year, anyway._

She squared her shoulders, wiped her face clear of hesitation, and nodded. "I will. _Timore coniungit nos."_

As soon as she said the words, the crowd cheered-quite genuinely, it seemed, -and Ivy was struck with pain in her chest.

She stumbled backwards, hitting the line of monsters on stage as the blood pounded in her ears. The pressure around her changed and a horrible sense of _wrongness_ crawled under her skin like bugs. As she struggled to remain upright, the human swore she heard a voice.

 _Wrong,_ it hissed inside the human's mind. _This does not belong…_

"-and here are your leaders for this year's Halloween sections!" The mayor boomed, and the crowd clapped once more as the newly promoted monsters hopped off stage, leaving only Ivy behind.

The Wind observed the human's hidden shaking and grew cold at the look in the girl's eye as her hand flew to her chest. Mindful of a few curious stares, the Wind pushed forward.

" _Miss Ivy? I understand than may have come as a bit of a shock, but-Miss Ivy? Are you alright?"_

 _"Wrong,"_ the human hissed venomously. "That wasn't…" she trailed off and stood up, blinking hard as the sensation faded. "W-Wind? What happened?"

" _I might ask the same of you, Miss,"_ the wind rebuked.

The girl stumbled to the edge of the platform and sat down heavily, taking as many deep breaths as she could. "Was he serious? Why did he put me in charge of...whatever that was?"

" _He was. Jack is never one to waste an idea."_

"An _idea?"_ Ivy growled in frustration. "What the hell am I even supposed to _do?"_

" _He established you as merely a consultant. You might add in ideas, but I assume you will be answering questions for them, to improve scares."_

Ivy put her head in her hands. "Something wasn't right, Wind, when I said the...the whatever that was."

" _Town motto, my girl,"_ the Wind informed. " _Used in many ceremonies. Timore coniungit nos. Fear unites us."_

"What did than guy mean about only citizens saying it? It's just words, right?"

" _Miss Ivy, words have power in Halloween Town. Words hold power, and not all power is either good or evil. The motto has been used to divide, terrify, comfort and unite. It all depends on the monster who preaches it."_

"And if a human says it?"

The Wind hummed thoughtfully. _"I think, Miss Ivy, that depends entirely on the type of person you are, and what you will make of the words."_

Ivy nodded slowly, tucking the Wind's words into the back of her mind. She shook off the last of the confusing fog and hopped off the platform, the Wind around her shoulders.

"You know where Jack is?"

….

The Pumpkin king was strolling along a deserted alley further from the town's center, when he felt a breeze on his skull and heard the patter of footsteps. He easily identified them as Ivy's- her awkward footing of one unused to the roads of Halloween gave her away.

She fell into step besides him, and he waited patiently for her questions.

It didn't take long.

"When did you come up with that?" She started, trying to keep pace with the skeleton. "Why didn't you tell anybody else? What if the other monsters don't like this? Why-"

"You want answers to any of that?' Jack asked, amused.

Ivy scowled, but fell silent.

"I've had the idea in the back of my mind since your arrival," Jack explained, "because it's so _rare_ to see the effects of our work. We don't do the scares and scenes for just the upper world inhabitants, mind you-it's all for fun!" He sped up a bit in glee, causing Ivy to swallow a swear and bolt after him.

"But your species and the others-you get to _see_ what we do, without taking part in it. It's fascinating, really. Like one large experiment."

"I wouldn't use than as a tagline," Ivy mumbled.

Jack ignored her and prattled on. "As for telling the others, well-" he slowed suddenly and bent down to Ivy's level. "I do love a good surprise."

"You could have at least told _me,"_ Ivy said, avoiding Jack's empty sockets.

Jack almost brushed that off, then cocked his head and gave the girl a searching glance. "Is than what's bothering you?"

Ivy hesitated, then nodded. "I-I mean, I don't really know what I'm doing, and if I screw this up, maybe the others will-"

"Don't you worry yourself about the other monsters," Jack interrupted. "Half the reason I made it official was so that you could answer the questions they might have without being interrogated."

Ivy frowned. "What? Really?"

Jack nodded solemnly. "Curiosity killed the cat, and we too are inquiring creatures."

Ivy gave a small smile at that, but she could feel the Wind's silent presence drifting around her shoulders.

"Hey, Jack?"

"Mm?"

"I wanted to ask you about-uh…" she trailed off as the memory of the _wrongness_ seeped through her. She couldn't tell Jack what was wrong-not when he seemed so pleased, and when he'd made an _official position so that the others would talk and work with her._

"It's just-" the words failed and she sighed. "When do we work with the others?"

God, she could almost _feel_ the Wind's disappointment.

…...

Ivy stared mournfully at a turnip that had been tucked away in Jack's kitchen. It was molding on one side and the color seemed off, but it would have to do.

"Why they decided to make _turnips_ frightening," the young girl grumbled as she bit into one side, "I will _never_ understand. Who carves a turnip, anyway?"

"The Irish," Jack called. Ivy gave herself a mental congratulation that she hadn't jumped when he suddenly appeared in the room.

"Say what?"

Jack pulled a book from a shelf, hiding his grin from the human. "The Irish carved turnips into a lantern to ward off Stingy Jack."

Ivy blinked rapidly. "Uh...any relation?"

Jack gave her a very toothy grin and walked towards the door. "I thought I might go over to the Doctor's. Mind warding off the Mayor if he comes?"

"What do you want with the Doctor?" Ivy huffed, hopping down from the counter. "You've been asking me about Sally and the Doctor for-" she cut herself off, eyes widening. "Hold on, _no way-"_

"What?" Jack asked, genuinely curious.

Ivy scanned the Pumpkin King's face, unsure if her hunch was correct. "Uh...say hi to Sally for me, will you? I've been meaning to talk to her."

Jack could tell there was something else, but his mind was bouncing around too quickly in his skull to concentrate. "I promise you I will. Now, do whatever humans must do to energize themselves-I've got something wonderful planned for tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" Ivy asked. _I was going to try and check out the gate! Is he psychic or something?_ "What's tomorrow?" 

Jack winked. "I told you I liked surprises," he said, practically bouncing out the door. "I shall see you soon!"

"Yeah, I bet." She grumbled, watching the skeleton bob his way down the path. The human shut the door and heard the sound echo around the empty house.

Wait. The house was _empty._

Ivy checked that the skeleton had rounded the corner, then bolted up into Jack's library, pulling the Book of Records from the shelves.

The human hesitated, remembering the witches' screaming book that had ruined everything. Was that with any important book? Or was it just a witch thing?

Ivy chewed on her lip before shoving the book back onto the shelf, choosing instead to rummage around the library. _This is your best bet to find answers, Kunze,_ she told herself sternly. _You don't know how much time you've got until Jack gets back, or when these books will be unguarded again. So, keep calm, don't make too big of a mess, and-_

"What?"

A pitch-black book was hidden under multiple (crossed out) sketches of pinstripe suits and pumpkin costumes. It was tied shut with a stubborn knot of rope and had an illegible word followed by 'uprising.'

" _Is this the challenge to Jack's throne the Wind was talking about?"_ Ivy wondered aloud. She snatched a small piece of glass and broke the string, jumping down onto Jack's work table.

Sitting cross legged, Ivy held her breath and opened the book, which (thankfully) remained silent…

...and immediately groaned.

" _Donnerwetter,_ this handwriting is _awful!"_ The human groaned, holding the book close to her eyes. The script was messy and small, with occasional large looping letters, as though the writers simply couldn't settle for the time it'd take to write this.

Ivy could understand-her own notes were _notoriously_ messy and rushed.

"I would have _hated_ cheating off this guy," she mumbled, finally deciphering a few words.

"'A... moral...bash? Clash? Provoked by former king... _Oogie Boogie.'"_

Ivy paused to rub her eyes.

"'Harmful...unnecessarily ill-spirited...ag-agreed to'- ahh, what does than _say?_ Ok, ok. 'Three associates ...were suspected though never... charged...I believe they'... _something…_ 'caught up and have changed.'

Ivy set the book down. The Wind had said that Shock's brothers and she had assisted the challenge, or Oogie Boogie. Ivy couldn't help but snort at the name.

But why did they fight? If Oogie was king before, then Jack next, then the challenge...did the old guy want his throne back?

Ivy thought suddenly of Bezata attempting to kick her out of place. "Maybe I should have challenged her to a... whatever went down."

The candlelight flickered over the page as Ivy bent down, the words coming easier.

"'Popular town vote holds myself in favor over Oogie...banished to…among disagreements arose the disappearance of Hall-'"

Ivy cut herself off, re-reading the words frantically.

'"-the disappearance of Halloween Town's _first living humans."_

...…..

Ivy paced the floor of her room frantically. The book had offered little else about the human, focusing in fragments on moral codes of revenge and whatnot. Nothing important, nothing _useful._

Ivy scowled, twisting her hair around her finger as she paced. She had heard the whispers about the humans who had come here before her, but the information was nonexistent. When had the last one come, 300 years ago? Wasn't than _before_ Jack's time?

The skeleton and human were lucky the former was out, otherwise Ivy would have shaken his bony self down for answers, subtlety be damned.

Ivy took a long breath in and out. She eyed the window, considering interrogating the Wind, but wasn't too eager to face the entity's scolding for breaking into Jack's stuff. The Wind was probably far more loyal to the skeleton king than to some human any day.

Ivy flopped herself down onto the straw bed, trying not to get too frustrated. She let the scent of straw fill her nose, the smell bringing back a memory of last year's Fasching, where she'd gotten stuffed into a pot full of hay, along with...who had she taken to the parade with her?

Ivy propped herself up on her elbows and thought hard. They'd coordinated outfits, gotten shoved in the pot together...why was her mind going blank?

A door slam downstairs both reveled Jack's return (and still as giddy, if not more so, it seemed) and snapped Ivy from her thoughts. She checked her watch ( _10:12 pm)_ and scrambled under the thin blanket.

Luckily, the skeleton didn't come bursting into the room, so she assumed that her hasty cleanup had done the job. She lay still for all of thirty seconds before snatching the book she'd borrowed from Frankenstein. _Maybe there's something about human policy in here…_

Ivy scooted closer to the window to catch the moonlight, shaking the rickety bed. As she settled, a small _hiss_ filled the room.

Ivy froze, listening to small shuffles and snorts that seemed to come from...underneath the bed.

The human rolled her eyes and hung over the edge, eyes scanning the half-darkness.

The glow from her watch revealed the dark red eyes of the tailypo.

Ivy stiffened, watching the creature bush up its tail and hiss. She'd humiliated herself in front of Jack last time, she was _not_ eager to do it again.

As the creature's claws slid out, Ivy's patience snapped and she bared her teeth, hissing as menacingly as she could.

The tailypo's eyes went wide and it scrambled into the back corner under her bed, shaking.

"Yeah, stay there," she grouched. "Just hush up and let me sleep, alright?"

The thing nodded frantically as Ivy pulled herself back onto the bed, turning her gaze back to the book, her mind racing as though the wind had blown her thoughts around.

* * *

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that! And just an FYI, next Saturday's chapter will be posted on _Tuesday_ or so, because I'm headed off on a trip.**

 _ **Donnerwetter:**_ **W** **hile literally translating to 'thunderstorm', this phrase is used in scoldings.**

 _ **Fasching:**_ **This is a Mardi Gras type festival that goes on for a few weeks in preparation for Lent. Maks are donned, candy is thrown, and people (including Ivy & yours truly) get thrown into large barrels of hay. And let me tell you, that stuff was in my hair and boots for _days._**

 **Love you all,**

 **-Aria**


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's your early update before I go! See you guys next week! Thanks so much for the reviews!**

* * *

 _November 12_

 _Sindelfingen, Stuttgart_

 _9:32 am_

Bezata glared at the clock on the wall as though it had personally offended her. The november wind caused her to pull her jacket close as she walked towards the skate counter, where Ben stood sorting the cash register.

"Hey, Ben," she called, unlocking the swing door leading to the back. Ben didn't spare her a glance.

"You're late."

Bezata huffed. "It's only 10 minutes, Ben. There was a huge backup."

"On the sidewalk? Never mind. We've got a Grundschule visiting."

Bezata groaned, pushing her purple glasses up her nose. "Didn't we _just_ have one of those?"

"Funny how a business works," Ben deadpanned, wiping down a small helmet.

Bezata caught the man's cold demeanor and fell silent, looking longingly at the ramps outside. Her own board was leaning against the wall, and she could practically _feel_ the practice time ticking away.

The scent of exhaust as three cars came around the park's entrance. Ben headed out to greet them as Bezata took the chance to grab a snack from the employee cupboard. She had her own personal spot for _Stollen,_ which her mother wouldn't let her have at home, and she really-

"HEY!"

The cabinet was completely empty, save for an ivy leaf bearing an emoji sticker, tongue sticking out.

"Ivy, you _Schlampe!"_ Bezata hissed. "How did she even-"

"Bezata?"

The girl turned to see Ben standing in the doorway, a hint of nervousness on his face. She shoved the ivy leaf into her pocket and flashed him a smile. "What?"

"You'd better come on out," he said, lowering his voice. "The American MP's are here."

Images of the armed soldiers popped into the girl's mind and she frowned. "What do _they_ want?"

…...

The two men waiting outside the counter had heavy camouflage armor and stern expressions, one shuffling papers together while his companion stood silent behind. Bezata instantly took in the handgun strapped to the man's belt, along with a rather blunt stick.

"Afternoon," Ben greeted in English. "This is Bezata Abendroth, one of the other workers here."

Bezata gave half smile, hoping she wouldn't mess up in front of Ben. "How can we help you?"

The man wasted no time holding out a small photograph. "Are the two of you affiliated with Ivy Kunze?"

Bezata held back a smirk when she saw the photo. Kunze had hated it-she could never look quite right in photos to begin with.

"We are," Ben answered. "Bezata here goes to school with her, and Ivy...she, um, used to work here at the park, and comes here oft-"

"Why does she no longer work here? How long ago was the termination?" The man interrupted, eyes shining.

Bezata scowled. "She got kicked out around 3 years ago, because of-"

Ben stepped on Bezata's foot under the counter. "She was fired due to a accident with a program, with a few other notes than my manager would be happy to discuss with you."

 _Happy? He'd be thrilled. As would I._

"Have either of you seen this girl around here recently?" the man continued. His friend eagerly jotted down looks, ignoring the odd stares from the workers.

"Last month," Ben answered, shooting Bezata a glare. "She hasn't been back here in a while, though."

"HA!" Both men said, grinning at each other. The first man straightened his hat and looked the two straight in the eye. "Ivy Kunze has been missing for nearly a fortnight." He sat back and waiting for their reactions.

"What, _again?"_ Bezata snarked. Ben slammed his foot on hers again, and the girl didn't hold back her indignant 'ow!" The officers cocked their heads and stared.

"Ivy has a habit of disappearing for a few days at a time," Ben explained through gritted teeth. "She has several friends who have graduated and spends time with them."

"We've already checked with her contacts," the officer dismissed, waving a hand. His naturally loud voice was starting to attract attention. "Her parents had the same attitude as you, until she wouldn't answer her phone and passed her usual week long limit."

Bezata frowned. Ivy _did_ answer phones, and called her friends, trusting them to relay it to her parents. The amount of times she'd seen an unknown number pop up on Ben's phone was infuriating. That girl took _complete_ advantage of him!

The employee in question shook his head. "We haven't heard from her, Officer. When did she go missing?"

"She didn't come home Halloween night," the officer revealed, shaking his head in disgust. "I hate these troubled kids-now we don't know if she ran off and got snatched then, or if she's still hiding, or if something actually went wrong…"

The man went on, Ben listening politely, while Bezata's mind raced. Halloween. _She'd seen Ivy._

She'd been on her way to the skate park, ready to get dressed up and ignored by the rest of the staff, when a flash of black-and -blue darted into her line of sight. Across the street skated Ivy, sans costume, apparently. The girl wore her jacket and a pair of jeans, securing that hideous hat to her head as she pushed towards the treeline of the forest, before disappearing inside.

 _Than was pretty late...what if that is when she went missing? Am I the last person to have seen her? Where-_

"Bezata?'

The brown haired girl snapped back into reality, where the other three stared at her expectantly.

"Sorry," she said with ease. "What?"

"They want to know if anybody could have wished her _ill intent,"_ Ben said slowly, raising a single eyebrow.

Bezata scowled and turned apologetically to the officers. "I'm sorry, Sirs. I don't think anybody disliked her enough to _abduct_ her."

The man nodded firmly. "You have to understand, we can't have this kind of thing getting around. We're already inspecting the parents-I can't imagine why she wasn't being watched!"

The two employees shared a glance.

"Uh...you are aware she's _fifteen_ years old, right?" Ben asked slowly. "Why would she need supervision?"

Both officers gaped. "And I suppose _your_ parents just let you run around?"

"Yours don't?" Bezata asked in surprise. "What's the use?

"As long as they don't get arrested or hurt, the kids usually do what they want," Ben shrugged.

The first man wrinkled his nose, just as the bus from the school rolled up. Ben nodded to the two men and said, "we have to go now, but if we hear anything, we'll let you know."

"Yeah, you do than," the man's friend muttered, closing his notebook. He pulled the first man away, adding, "if they run their kids like this, no wonder that girl ran off. What kind of irresponsibility is that?"

The employees raised their eyebrows at the comment.

"If she came from a place with _idioten_ like that, I can almost understand her attitude," Bezata murmured as the school came flooding towards them.

Ben spared a tired glare, but didn't correct her.

….

After the officers left, Bezata and Ben raced around the shop, fitting the new group of kids with helmets and hastily yelled safety lessons before sending them out to the other staff members. Ben wiped down the counter slowly, turning his thoughts over.

"The American police have never had to come over here before," he started, watching the other girl's reaction.

Bezata rolled her eyes. "She's always left a note, and didn't stay away long enough for her parents to call them. If they had to, they'd probably go to the _Polizei_ before those guys."

Ben chewed his lip. "Then doesn't that mean something's _different_ this time?"

Bezata threw down her spray can, ignoring the puff than flew into her face. "What do you want me to say, huh? I saw you staring at me while they were interrogating us. She's probably realized the rest of you don't worry when she leaves, and now she's stepped it a notch."

Ben glared. "I know there's no love between you two, but don't you care at _all?"_

"No," she said simply. "Do I want her alive? I mean, yeah. I'm not a monster. But does it affect me in any way? No."

The girl pushed up her purple glasses and moved away. "I'm done with Ivy Kunze ruining my life. The sooner you cut her influence on you, the better off you'll be."

 _November 12_

 _9:25 am_

The Wind knew that, despite being one of the oldest sentients in the Universe, the authority the Wind wielded was miniscule. The Wind was used to being ignored, or overlooked.

This, however, may be the last straw.

' _Miss Ivy, for what feels like the tenth time-"_

"Fifteenth. I've kept track."

" _...than for the fifteenth time, you are not immortal."_

"Oh, _really."_

" _So, I remind you, you do not have to do this. They are only children-"_

"Exactly!" Ivy snapped, steadying herself on the roof. The Wind twitched, trying not to be the gust than sent her falling. "I'm not wussing out from a dare to a bunch of _kids."_

Below, a crowd of monster children stared up at the human in awe. Ivy rolled her neck and put one foot on Gesch, locking eyes with Shock, who had her arms crossed.

The Wind tried another tactic.

" _Pranks are encouraged here, several training before they even arrive in Halloween Town. You could perhaps-"_

"Will you quit worrying?" Ivy huffed, not letting her eyes stray from her target. "That witch bet me I couldn't jump between the tops of buildings like the rest of them can." She rolled her skateboard carefully, sending a shingle tile down to the pavement below. "I've jumped further distances than this."

The Wind hummed loudly, sending Ivy's hair into a frenzy. The human somehow managed to glare at the entity as she raked a hand through her hair, muttering about a hair tie.

Angus called something, and the Wind wasted no time relaying the message to Ivy.

"Uh, Ivy, are you sure about this? I mean, you're just a human, and this is pretty far…"

" _Angus is seeing reason,"_ the Wind argued. But this only seemed to encourage her.

"Angus can barely fly," she said, tensing her muscles. "I am not gonna let these twerps drag us humans through the mud."

And with that, she pushed herself down the roof.

Instantly, the girl turned off the rest of the world and honed in on her balance. _The roof's rickety,_ she noticed. _Tiles loose on the left...the jump is coming up._

The kids below were shouting encouragmetns (as well as taunts, but the Wind drowned them out as it raced alongside the skater, watching as she unconsciously adapted to the attempted resistance. Her eyes narrowed, she took a deep breath, bunched her legs together, and-

-then she was gliding through the air. Gravity was going to claim her any second now, but for the briefest of moments, Ivy almost felt as though she could keep ascending, break through the barrier of Earth, and land back on her own streets.

But reality crashed in as much as the ground threatened too. She was a good four feet too short.

Ivy knew the drill: If she couldn't reach the roof, tuck in and try to manage a roll. But at the last moment, the Wind hit her back with a strong gust, and Ivy shot forward with a new speed, landing with a solid _whack_ and turning sharply on the new roof. Hearing the startled gasps from the square, the human lept off the edge of this roof with control, holding her board up until the last moment before rattling onto the streets again.

Ivy rolled up to Shock, kicked up her board, and said, "let me know when your bathtub can do _that."_

The trick or treater turned purple, as the other monsters got over their daze and snickered. Ivy turned to walk away, smirk still etched on her face, when Shock sent a bolt of magic towards the human. She flew forward and hit the ground hard, the Wind caught off guard. Something cracked quietly, and Ivy pulled her arm out to stare at her wrist, stomach sinking.

It was her watch.

The screen had several splits in it, and the time froze on the barely-visible time of at _9:32am._

It was small, Ivy knew, and mostly unimportant. But it was something from the _human_ world. It had ticked alongside her heart, and the new silence seemed heavier.

Though than might have been the petrified children behind her.

She turned slowly, glaring at Shock, who now matched Ivy's previous smirk.

"Y-you shouldn't have done than, S-Shock," little Vinnie stammered. "She lives with Jack! She's gonna tell on you!" She then turned to the human. "Right, Ivy?"

 _Well, I can't now Vinnie, can I?_ The human thought in irritation. Her mind began to whirl, and she spoke to the Wind.

"You mind giving us a moment?"

The other children looked at each other, confused. They weren't sure exactly what kind of power this human had, but the dark undertones of her speech had them slinking out of the square, hiding a distance out of eavesdropping range.

The Wind was less easily swayed. " _Miss Ivy, remember what I said to you about-"_

"Trust me, I haven't forgotten," Ivy laughed bitterly. "Just for a minute."

Still hesitant, the Wind complied.

Now it was just Shock and Ivy, both with their arms crossed and eyes narrowed at the other. Ivy remembered how Shock had allegedly supported the challenge to Jack. Would that affect her after Jack won?

"Where do you and your brothers live?" Ivy asked, keeping her tone casual. She hadn't missed the flash of uncertainty than Shock had displays when Vinnie had brought up Jack.

"Why do you want to know, human?" Shock spat.

Ivy kept her cool. "Because if you don't tell me, I'll have to ask Jack. I'm sure he can show me."

Shock scoffed. "We're out near the forest," she boasted. "Jack never comes out there."

 _Oh? Thanks, you little brat._

"How about this," she offered, unconsciously mimicking Ben's tone. "You tell me how to get out of town, and I won't tell Jack you told the human to put other children in danger."

"What? I never said that!"

Ivy inspected her nails, then grinned. "I think you did. All the kids just happened to be in the square when you dared me? None had Halloween duties? And maybe…" She leaned close to Shock, "maybe you used some magic to sabotage it."

"You couldn't tell a story like that." Shock bluffed.

"I've had a lot of practice." Ivy matched the young witch's stare.

Shock grumbled a moment, then nodded. "Tomorrow, 11 pm. Be on Pain Street."

Ivy allowed one thin smile before giving her own nod and walking away.

The moment Ivy left the square, the Wind came rushing down to interrogate her. " _What did you say? I warn you, these children are-"_

"I said I wouldn't tell Jack," Ivy said. The Wind would figure it out tomorrow, but if she could prevent Jack from finding out earlier, it would be better. "I told her to keep her magic to herself, and leave me out of it."

The Wind knew it couldn't be that simple, but let it go. " _And I trust that you are not injured?"_

Ivy snorted. "I _told_ you I've done this before."

" _Without any of the proper attire, I presume."_

"Look, if a helmet doesn't fit me perfectly, I'm not gonna bother with-hey, how do you know what that is?"

The Wind furiously cursed it's minstep.

"You _are_ the same wind on the surface, right?" Ivy's mind lit up with new possibilities. "How do you get up there?"

" _In ways impossible for a human to follow,"_ the Wind whispered. " _I am very sorry."_

"Ah, Ivy Kunze, am I right?"

Ivy turned to see that she had walked herself unknowingly to the Creature's book shop, and the monster himself stood brushing the stoop. The mildly domestic scene threw the girl for a moment, the Wind using this opportunity to slip away unnoticed.

"What? Oh, uh, yeah," Ivy finally stammered.

The Creature was polite enough to overlook her surprise. "And who were you speaking too just now?"

"Well, I _was_ speaking…" she glared around at the now still air, "...to the Wind."

The monster's dull eyes widened. "To the Wind, you say? It takes a considerable effort from most to speak with the Wind."

Ivy shrugged, unsure. "So I've heard."

When the Creature nodded and kept sweeping the stoop, she asked, "do you, um, need some help?"

The Creature tilted his head, unused to the request, before nodding and beckoning the human to step inside. She stepped over his dirt pile and breathed in the heavy scent of books, where the monster handed her, of all things, a small duster.

Ivy raised her eyebrows, wondering what such a normal object meant in Halloween Town. Did it scream if you used it? Ooze goo or play some sort of trick on you?

The Creature almost smiled at the distrust on her young face. " _Made from the spiders,"_ he said, slipping into the other language. " _But other than that, it is quite plain."_

" _Well, thank goodness for little miracles,"_ Ivy muttered, stepping over to a shelf and brushing the duster experimentally.

" _How are you finding the book?"_

Ivy thought of the dry wording, nonexistent pictures, and pages upon _pages_ of ancestry lines.

" _It's very informative_ ," she replied honestly. " _Why is it so hard to hear the Wind?"_

" _The other residents have simply grown too used to his whispers,"_ the Creature said, shrugging his thick shoulders. " _I myself wished that I had been made with better ears, so than I might better hear the other mysteries of this world. I spoke to the lady Shelly, and-"_

" _Wait, what? You spoke to her? How?"_

The monster frowned. " _She saw me in dreams and in her mind when she was telling my story,"_ he explained. " _I asked her if she could write for me to have better hearing, but she said it wouldn't be right to change my story in any way."_

If Ivy had ideas before, her mind almost hurt from them now. " _So, did she dream of you, and you just popped up? Or can you summon her, too?"_

"' _Summon' is a strange word,"_ the Creature chided. " _Most often we shared direct contact so I could tell her my tale of woe, but there were times when I had to go to the field of nightmares in order to contact her more efficiently."_

" _The field of nightmares?"_ Ivy asked, eyes wide. " _What on Earth is that?"_

" _It is where some of the nightmares and terrors of the Upper World live. We study what we find in order to replicate it on Halloween."_ The Creature curled his lip. " _Or they do, anyway. My days of scaring are long over. All I wish is to be left with a book and some silence."_

Ivy shifted awkwardly, wondering if this was indirectly aimed at her.

" _And anybody can go there?"_

The Creature shook his head venomously. " _One requires explicit permission from the Pumpkin King or mayor,"_ he corrected. " _Too much influence there can disturb the nightmares."_

" _Oh, and we wouldn't want than,"_ Ivy grumbled.

The two fell into silence as Ivy continued to clean off dust from the old tomes, wondering how she could convince Jack to let her pay a visit to the field.

* * *

 **Have a good week,**

 **-Aria**


	18. Chapter 18

**Happy Summer, everyone! Whether you're just getting out of school or still have a few weeks left, traveling or staying home, I wish you all a fun and fandom filled summer. After all, in the writer's world, no school tends to lead to more updates...**

 **Corona Pax: Elaboration and creepy Shock? This chapter has both, enjoy!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Short answer: She thinks she knows what she's doing. Is it the right thing? Only time will tell...**

 **: Luckily, I'm having so much fun writing it, the Wind pops up in almost every chapter, this one being no exception.**

 **Mr. jack joke: Here you are!**

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

 _November 13_

 _Early Morning_

Upon leaving his room after a long night of planning, Jack was startled to find Ivy seated at the high table, a stack of books doubling as a step stool. Jack's bone meal was laying innocently by his spot as the human nibbled on a Pumpkin Pastry. Noticing the skeleton, she merely quirked an eyebrow. "Morning, your Highness."

"You could say that a little nicer," Jack chided good naturedly as he walked over and examined his plate. "And to what do I owe this terror?" He asked.

Ivy blinked-would she _ever_ get used to this weird terminology? -before shrugging and casting her eyes down. "No real reason. I'm just reminding you that I was promised surprise of sorts," here she looked up- "and all that might entail."

Jack's face lit up and he gave her a scraggly grin. "Oh yes! It's going to be absolutely wonderful?"

"Is it a visit to Sally?" Ivy asked, breaking her pastry into fours.

"What? N-no, although a visit to Sal-I mean, the Doctor, might be beneficial but why do you think I'd want to go?"

Ivy's face remained perfectly neutral. "That's none of my business." She paused to take a drink of tea, enjoying the red coloring of the skeleton's cheeks, before waving for him to continue. "Go on, please, I interrupted."

Jack frowned at the human but forced himself to put it out of his skull. "W-well, given that you are now our human fears consultant, it would to you well to meet the other fields of Town."

 _Fields._ Ivy instantly remembered her original intent in making Jack breakfast. She put a grin on her face and leaned forwards. "What, like the sections you announced the other day? That's awesome!"

Jack felt a thrill at the light in her eyes. It was good to see joy instead of the glare he'd grown accustomed to. "Not just the section leaders themselves, but the _original_ tradition makers."

Ivy had to admit that was interesting. "And all the different elements of fear?" When Jack nodded, Ivy began her lead in. "I think that Frankenstein's monster said something about 'fear of thought'...what's that mean, really?"

"It can vary," Jack explain as he stood, taking his finished bones and Ivy's forgotten pastry to the door. "For all great stories, certain folk are selected to tell them-to keep the legacy alive. If the being does not tell the story, the original idea or creature will fade away." He paused, thinking of the stories he'd heard from his own mentor of monsters who'd simply vanished in the square as the well of belief that sustained them finally dried up. "For many monsters, it is the same. The ones who carry out the legacy may believe it is only a story, although many interact with their 'creation' in dreams or powerful imaginative thought."

Ivy felt her head reel at the knowledge. "Does everybody have someone like that?"

Jack shook his head. "Not all. Frankenstein's monster is quite rare-Mary Shelley nearly didn't write his tale. But their many meetings convinced her-"

"Meetings?" Ivy interrupted, hoping to lead Jack down the same train of thought as the Creature.

Jack hesitated. "The field of nightmares is a powerful spot. I've had to forbid its entrance to many monsters, though."

"Because the nightmares might get disturbed," Ivy grouched.

The pumpkin King tossed the scraps out the door, where many cats and dogs scampered to collect them. He shut the door and faced the human, whose eyes were wide and bright with curiosity.

"That's one reason," he admitted. "But some lesser-known monsters, who only survive through spoken lore, sometimes go mad in there, trying to frighten a human into telling their story. But the Writers can't be forced-they are given the stories before any of us even come into existence."

Ivy's mouth dried in horror. This hadn't been how she pictured the conversation going. But she steeled her nerves together and plunged in. "What about humans going there?"

Jack turned in shock. "It's a fascinating place, to be sure...but it's never been done before…"

Ivy spread her hands. "There's a lot of firsts going on lately."

Jack nodded in acknowledgement, his desire to show her all Halloween had to offer outweighing an odd tug in his gut not to go. He frowned suddenly. "Although, it is outside the Town gates…"

Ivy's heartbeat sped up. _This was her chance!_

"I promise I'll stick by," she practically begged. "You just gotta say the word and I'll do it."

Jack tilted his head and gave her a knowing smile. "I somehow doubt that."

Ivy attempted to grab Gesch, but the skateboard was too far where to lay on the ground. Undeterred, she fumbled in her pockets until she found a dried ivy leaf she'd meant to tape to Bezata's bag after taking her rival's book. She put the leaf in her hand and said solidly, "I swear to listen and not go off."

It had the desired effect of making Jack smile again, before he clapped his hands together. "Well, it sounds bad to me!"

 _Yeah. Me too._

…

Halloween Town weather had always struck the human as odd. Angus had explained that if the weather was possible on Halloween night, it would happen in town. Ivy had thought mournfully of summer days and snow before resigning herself to the feel of her jacket and the slight chill on her nose.

But one thing that was ever present was the mist. It curled around houses and spread itself across the cobblestone streets, sometimes trapping the entire town in a world of grey. The other monsters seemed to have no trouble navigating, leaving Ivy to stumble and hold her hands in front of her and-

"Oh, come _on!"_

Ivy glared at her left foot, where she could feel some sort of mud puddle holding her shoe fast. Outside of the Halloween gates, the mist had turned into a heavy fog, and it was all she could do to keep Jack's thin form in sight.

"Hey, Jack! Hold on!" Ivy gripped the inside of her shoe and pulled, unsure of  
whether to curse or praise the fact she had the laces fastened tightly.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, coming back to see the human struggling to maintain her balance.

Ivy gave an enormous tug, throwing her weight off balance and slipping backwards. Jack's hands shot out to steady her shoulders.

"All right, hold on," Jack said, the amusement evident in his voice. "This happens to some of the younger monsters when they sneak out here as well."

"Well, a _warning_ would have been nice," Ivy grouches, trying to ignore the odd sensation of Jack's bony fingers. "I'll get it in just a second…"

Jack shook his skull, got a firmer grip on the human-" one _more tug, I can do this-"_ and pulled her upright, the mud mournfully releasing its victim.

The moment he set her down, Ivy shook her foot madly and bent to scrape off the bog. "Oh God, this stuff _reeks."_

"It's not the most pleasant of Halloween's stenches," Jack agreed, letting one hand ghost over her shoulder again as he steered her through the fog. "Many, _many_ young monsters have come back with that smell-it makes it very easy to figure out where they were!" Jack laughed and gently steered her right of another hole.

Ivy frowned, torn between her desire to _not_ get stuck again and the utter _wrongness_ of Jack's hand. "So, uh, they never try to lie about it?"

Now it was the skeleton's turn to frown as he gazed down in confusion at the girl. "Lie? Why would they? They know they're caught out. Only the trick-or-treaters try, but it's a game to them. Do human children lie?"

Ivy squirmed, cheeks flushing. "I mean, usually, yeah. Some kids are ok, I guess, but usually they don't wanna get in trouble."

"But wouldn't it be more beneficial to admit from the start?"

"Not if you get away with it."

They traveled in silence after that, until the fog all but cleared before a dead patch of grass. Jack stopped, always hesitant to cross the barrier.

Ivy was somewhat less impressed. " _That's_ the field of nightmares? I thought it was supposed to hold...nightmares?"

Jack pointed to the ring of stones that surrounded the field. "Step into the ring and then you'll see."

Ivy bit her lip. Stories-and Warnings- of the Fae had always been present, but it was far easier to dismiss them when you weren't standing in a foggy meadow, a skeleton behind you. Now _anything_ seemed possible.

Ivy rolled her shoulders and stepped in, shutting her eyes and feeling the temperature drop.

The human could feel the fog thickening and curling around her, sending a renewed shudder down her spine. She wiped condensation off her hands and cracked her eyes open, taking in the wisps of fog and smoke, with flickers of color within them. She glanced behind her, only to find a wall of black mass where Jack had been.

 _This is what you wanted, right?_ She scolded herself, taking a forceful step forward. _Figure out a connection and-_

"Hello, dear. No need to worry; we'll get you set with a proper nightmare in no time."

Ivy whirled around to see an old woman, black shawl thrown around the face. It was  
hunched over, with knotted fingers caressing the edge of the shawl.

"You're the one in charge of the nightmares?" Ivy asked, her doubt leaking into her voice.

The woman stopped short. "Don't act so surprised," came a defensive voice. "This is only one of my many, many forms."

The knotted fingers clicked together, a nails-on-chalkboard sound as flames rose from the ground, only for a tall black form with a felt hat to step out. "In this form," came the voice, impossible deep, "I am the _jinn._ Do you recognize me?"

"Uh-" Ivy stammered, feeling her teeth buzz.

The black form tipped its hat, and the black mass swirled onto itself to reveal another female form, with stark white hair and a manic smile. "In this form," they screeched, and Ivy clapped her hands over her ears, "I am Nocnitsa, guardian of the forest of nightmares!" They grew and grew, each form flickering as they towered over the human, who did her best not to lose it. "Or perhaps…" they shrunk down, growing pointed ears and beady red eyes, "...perhaps you recognize me now?"

Ivy stared at the solid form that she'd seen dozens of times in her childhood. "You're the Alp now," she said, with as much apathy as she could muster. "I think I liked one of the others better."

The Alp's from flickered again. "In this form, I am Ammuttadori, striker of-"

"Yeah, yeah, nightmares...Ammuttadori, Nocnitsa, _jinn,_ whatever. Is Freddy Krueger gonna pop up-"

There was a squelching sound, and Ivy sighed as she looked at the rotten face. "Of _course,_ you have that form."

A dark whirl of sound and shadows, and the solid black mass was back, slowly stretching out their inky cloak.

"...Anyways," the human squared her shoulders and breathed. "I've come to get in contact with the human world," she said, her stance betrayed by the squeak in her voice.

The Entity seemed amused. "You're aware you're dreaming? I haven't gotten a new lucid dreamer in some time…"

"I'm not lucid, I'm real." Ivy snapped, the cold increasing with each word. "I'm here with Jack Skellington, and I need to see some nightmares."

The Entity dug into their pockets and pulled two wisps of smoke out. "A human, still living, in the Town of All Hallows...yes, it has been a while, hasn't it?'

The wisps of smoke began to flash with colors and images, growing with each movement of the long fingers that held them.

A crowd of monsters. A swirling pool of black water. Rocks caving in. A pumpkin image, sketched on a tree. Blood on stones. And bugs, a growing number of bugs, crawling towards a sack…

The images disappeared as the Entity snapped the rotting flesh of their fingers. "Ah yes, their nightmares were _fascinating_."

Ivy's breath caught. "Wait, those were from the other two humans?" When the Entity only smiled, she narrowed her eyes and curled her hands into fists. "Let me see!" She lunged forward, only for the Entity to laugh before dissolving into smoke, letting the human fall to the mossy ground. She pushed himself up onto her elbows, only for a cold hand to settle on her head. She froze, instinct warning her not to move.

"I must admit, you're the first of your kind to meet me this way," the Entity whispered, and they seemed to surround the human from every side. The hand grew heavier.

"I wonder what kind of nightmares I can glean from you...you stink of fear, little human."

Images flashed in front of the girl, collected in a growing pile of smoke. Her younger self's fear of rabbits. An endless empty world, with her the only one left. Her brother, Anton, hurt or dead. Bezata taking Gesch...Ben-no, Jack, Jack and the rest of Town looking at her in disgust…

With a cry, Ivy twisted from the cold grip and waved her hand through the smoke. She rolled to throw off the hand, stumbled to her feet, and jumped-passing through a nightmare cloud as her feet left the ground.

…

It certainly didn't _seem_ like a nightmare.

She landed in the middle of a road on a sunny day, the sounds of kids playing in the background. Ivy half-expected a car to catch her off guard, but the road remained silent.

Ivy frowned and got up, brushing gravel from her palms. The leaves swayed softly in the breeze, giving the human an idea.

"Hey! Wind! Do you work in here?" Ivy called, taken aback by the tinny sound of her voice. "Ugg, that sounds weird...Wind?"

There was only silence. The human turned and surveyed the world. "What's the catch?" She muttered.

There was no response, but a new sound arose. Someone was crying.

" _Aaand there's_ the catch," she muttered. After a moment's hesitation, she rolled her  
eyes and followed the noise. Might as well go all in.

It was a kid, trapped inside the goo from Halloween's Streets. Other kindergarten-aged students muttered to themselves, all a few feet from the kid. The one trapped had his face covered.

"Ok, kinder, what happened?" Ivy asked, her voice as authoritative as possible. She shot a grin to the scared faces, dropping down on one knee and slinging an arm  
over her knee. "How'd he get stuck in this goo?"

The kids frowned, looking hesitantly among themselves. "Uh...what goo?" Asked a girl with two Dutch braids.

Ivy narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, 'what goo?' The stuff he's stuck in, of course."

"W-We thought he was just p-pretending," another boy stammered. "There's n-nothing here!"

Ivy stepped forward and dug her hands into the goo, cupping her hands to dump out little handfuls. The kids watched doubtfully as she gripped the kid's sweaty hands, her lip curling in disgust.

"Ok, I'm gonna pull you out now," she said, bracing a foot against a nearby rock. "Don't let go of my wrists, you hear?"

Without waiting for a response, Ivy began to pull, her fingers and nails curling into the boy's arm as she slowly, surely, felt the goo shift.

The boy began to cry. "Ow! That hurts!" He yelled, trying to worm his way out of Ivy's grip.

Ivy held fast. "Be quiet and let me get you out! I can't concentrate when you're crying!" Her voice rose and a sense of Deja vu washed over her. She shook it off and kept pulling.

With one final yank, the kid came flying out of the goo and collapsed onto the ground near Ivy, who rubbed her shoulder and watched the kid curl in on himself.

Ivy felt her patience draining. "Don't go all turtle on me yet; I've still got to get the gunk off your face before you suffocate or something."

When the boy didn't move, Ivy grabbed his shoulder and forcefully rolled him over, tugging the last film of goo from his face. "And you're welcome, by the wa-"

Ivy froze as she made eye contact with the young boy. It was one of her old students, Lars.

As soon as Lars saw her, the world went black and started to swirl. The other kids melted away as a bruise on Lars' face grew more and more prominent.

 _Oh Scheiße, this is Lars' nightmare!_

"You _hurt_ me, Ivy!" Lars whined, breathing rapidly. "Y-you hurt-"

"Look, Lars, we've been over this. It was an _accident,"_ Ivy snapped. "But right now, I need you to _focus._ Do you still see Ben at your Grundschule, where his Mom works?"

The nightmare world shuddered, throwing Ivy off balance. Lars was shutting his eyes, walking backwards and covering his ears, still muttering, " _h-hurt me, hurt me-"_

Ivy felt her own form flicker, her body tingling like static. She lunged forward and grabbed Lars' shoulder. "Tell Ben I'm alive, Lars. I'm just stuck-I'm stuck and I'm trying to get out, I'm _trying-"_ the world lurched again- "-his middle name is Marie, like the French. Tell him I told you; he'll know I sent you...I'm just _stuck_ in this-"

The pressure slammed into her chest and she let go of Lars' shoulder, falling to the ground as the world spun and dissolved. If she could just _get up, get out-_

A hand grabbed Ivy's own shoulder and she screamed despite the vacuum of sound, twisting to try and get away. The hand got a firmer grip and pulled-

-and then, Ivy was flying backwards out of Lars' nightmare, her head slamming against something hard, and she blinked the stars from her eyes to see Jack down at her, pure bewilderment on his face.

"While I understand your enthusiasm, monsters aren't really supposed to interfere unless you need to _imitate_ the fear," Jack babbled nervously. It was at the back of Ivy's mind to remind Jack she wasn't a monster, but she was occupied with lying the moss, shaking off the remnants of Lars' dream.

"It's perfectly normal, Jack. Newcomers often get carried away."

Instinct kicked in and Ivy struggled to get up, spotting the Entity out of the corner of her eye. Jack held out his hand to help her up, but the human ignored him.

They had changed forms again, becoming a small old woman once more. As Ivy glared, the Entity put a scraggly finger over their lips before speaking again. "I'm sure that she wouldn't ruin them intentionally, Jack. This may be serious-the boy is awaking now, after all...but then, she's new."

Ivy seethed, her mind switching back to the nightmares from the other two humans. Did Jack know?

"This is _Haddiela_ , Ivy," Jack explained happily, oblivious to the tension in the air. "They're responsible for cataloguing nightmares, to help us understand  
them, as well as direct humans to their own nightmares each night. It's fascinating!"

"You force people to have nightmares?" Ivy gasped, not bothering to hide the disgust  
in her voice.

"Oh no, not at all," Haddiela said, slipping into the helpful role. "Some human minds wander into my realm, inviting my work in. I simply help them find what suits them.

Ivy opened her mouth, scathing retort ready, when she saw Haddiela dip a hand into the pocket that held the nightmares of Halloween's humans-except now, a third, if faint, cloud joined them. The nightmare entity gave the third human a warning glare, their fingers curling around the edges.

 _What does that mean?_ Ivy wondered. She stiffened at the thought of the nightmare master having any sort of control over her. How connected was she to that vulnerable puff of smoke?

Jack was talking again. "...and of course, you'll be able to help us identify what humans find scariest, as I'm sure your experience will be more accurate-"

"Is there anything else you needed Jack?" Haddiela interrupted smoothly over Ivy's sputter of " _experience?_ " They smiled warmly. "I am very busy tonight, you see."

"Oh, of course!" Jack clasped his hands and turned to the human, who was still staring at Haddiela's pocket. "Come along, Ivy-we don't want to waste the night!"

He stepped out, Ivy already turning to follow, when the Entity gripped her shoulder painfully. Ivy kept her gaze forward, sensing rather than seeing the nightmare personification shifting. The brim of their hat- _switched forms again-_ knocked against Ivy's temple as they whispered in her ear.

"I do hope sleep will come to you here. Human minds are so... _fragile_ to reality."

Ivy wrenched herself out of their grip and sprinted out of the Field, taking in a sigh of relief as she broke through the fog, back into the Halloween World, where the pumpkin sun was low on the horizon.

"Already?" Ivy grouched. She knew the days had been getting shorter, but without her watch, she couldn't calculate it properly. She scowled down at the broken glass.

Jack was waiting on top of the hill, and Ivy tried ignore how she relaxed at seeing the skeletal figure. She hobbled forward a few steps, then hesitated, remembering how their last sunset talk had ended.

Thankfully, the pumpkin king seemed to be distracted, eye sockets fixed on Finkelstein's tower, leading the human to give a huff of amusement. Jack brightened upon seeing her.

"Oh, good!" Jack bounded forward, waving to the fog patch in the distance. "We'd best be getting back to Town-I've realized I _do_ something important to discuss with the Doctor."

Ivy held back a grin. "Oh, yeah? About what?"

"I want to ask him about allowing other monsters to inhabit inanimate objects," he said excitedly, beckoning for the girl to follow him down the path.

"What, like demons?" Ivy joked, then frowned when Jack's face clouded over. "Wait-are demons real? Like, actual demons? No way. Demons don't exist."

Jack choose to stare up. "Not long ago, you didn't believe we existed," he said simply. "There are many, many other secrets this existence has to offer."

Ivy looked down, silent.

Once they reached the Doctor's street, Jack hesitated. "Ah, Ivy-do you know the way back to the manor? I'd take you, of course, but I'd hate to keep Sa-er, the Doctor,  
waiting-"

Ivy quickly traced the route back to the manor, heart leaping to her throat when she realized it followed Pain Street. _Shock asked me to meet her there! This is perfect!_

"Sure, Jack," Ivy said, shrugging her shoulders. "I'll meet you back there."

Jack took a few steps, then turned and leaned his face directly before the human's. " _Straight_ back to the manor, right? I'll be back at sunrise."

Ivy waved her hand, trying to mask her surprise. _What, is he psychic now?_

"I hear you, Jack," she said. "Go ahead and learn...furniture possession."

" _Inanimate objects,"_ Jack corrected half-heartedly, already wandering up the Doctor's path.

Ivy kept her pace measurable as she walked away, looking around before ducking onto Pain Street, the shadow of the moon limiting her sight. She traveled further and further from the center of town, with only broken signs to guide her.

Finally, Pain Street's jet-black cobblestones appeared beneath her feet, and Ivy started to see her breath in the colder air. She crammed her hands into her deep jacket pockets, stamping her feet.

"Wowie, I didn't know humans were so _weak_ to cold."

Ivy grit her teeth as three forms poured out of a nearby trashcan, no huff of air coming from their mouths.

Ivy stared. "Oh hell, there's three of you." A faux skeleton and devil stood next to Shock, an identical glint entering the three sets of beady eyes.

They sprang into position, whipping off their masks.

"Lock!"

"Shock!"

"A-and Barrel!" The third wedged his way under the other two, slobbering onto the ground.

Ivy raised her eyebrow. "Pleasure," she said sarcastically, truly appreciating Halloween's use of the phrase for the first time. "Besides," she continued, pulling her hat over her ears, "there's a difference between _mild chill_ and downright _freezing._ Why is it colder here, anyway?"

The slobbering skeleton-what was it, Barrel or something? -giggled. "Because we're closer to the forest, _dummins."_

Ivy blinked, insult ignored. "How? I thought...we're _further_ from the gate!"

"Boy, you really _are_ dumb," Lock said, though the manic grin faded as Ivy glared at him. "And, ah, we are. But the Gatekeeper sticks to the gate only, and this part of town is watched by a ghost that we've...played some games with."

 _Oh, goodie,_ Ivy thought to herself, momentarily considering racing back to the manor. The three beckoned her towards an open cobblestone, and she hesitated only a moment before following them into the hole.

She landed with an echoed _thud_ some four feet down, the dirt absorbing the impact. She crouched low, eyes darting to try and find a light source.

There was some giggling off to her right. She tensed, trying to pinpoint all three of them.

"Oh, she can't _see,"_ one of the brats giggled. Ivy swallowed and tried to fix the voice with a glare.

"Oh, come on, we don't have all night!" There was Shock again, and a small hand pushed her forward. Ivy winced, but complied.

Soft _plips_ echoed around the group as the ectoplasm dripped off the walls, eventually slicking up the floor and illuminating the passage with a soft blue glow. Ivy was still  
hunched over, loath to crawl on the slick surface. She kept her eye on the two new members, remembering the Winds' warning about the three.

 _Oh, well. It doesn't' seem like the Wind gets down here much anyway, if the stench is any indication._

… _._

"There's a ladder here, human. Try not to trip."

Ivy watched as the three scrambled up the rickety ladder, resisting the urge to trip one of them. She took a calming breath and grabbed the ladder, praying it wouldn't fall.

Ivy poked her head through the rotten leaves, taking care to keep her mouth firmly shut. Using all the upper body strength she possessed, the girl hauled herself back onto the marshy land outside Halloween.

The moon was rising in the sky, giving Ivy's hair a silver tinge as her blue highlights glowed. The mist was back, and the stillness subdued the human for a long moment, until the Wind almost knocked her back into the hole.

" _And what, pray tell, do you think you're doing?"_

Caught off guard, Ivy yelled and covered her head, but the Wind didn't back away like usual.

" _You were instructed by Jack to remain inside Halloween! We have RULES, Miss Ivy, and being human does not exempt you from them!"_

"Lock, Shock, and Barrel can leave!" She shot back, lying flat, trying to let the gale pass over her.

" _Ah, yes, listen to the three troublemakers I warned you against, not the 4-billion-year-old entity!"_

Gritting her teeth, Ivy pushed herself into an army crawl, keeping her head low. "At _they_ might give me some answers," she snapped. "The rest of you go on and on about rules  
and such but nobody will come out and tell me _why."_

The Wind used its infinite patience to avoid spinning itself into a tornado and _forcing_ the human to move. She was already making it hard enough!

" _I will inform Jack."_

"I thought you were 4 billion, not _12."_ Spotting the three kids already at the edge of the forest, she pushed herself to her feet and bolted forwards.

To her surprise, the Wind stopped at the forest line, keeping silent. Ivy brushed her hair down and looked at the three, who were staring at her in shock. "What?" She asked, out of breath.

"You can hear the _Wind?"_ Lock asked, eyes wide.

"Is he mad?" Barrel added.

"I'm not gonna get involved with _that!_ " Shock crossed her arms and stared. "Why didn't you say something, human?"

"Is it _that_ unusual?" she asked, slightly irritated. She flapped her hands, squeezing her eyes shut. "Actually, never mind. You were gonna show me your place, right?"

…..

"I am _not_ calling out," the human muttered, frozen in the middle of a clearing.

The trick or treaters had vanished, the fog was getting thicker, Ivy wasn't sure which the town was, and the between the owls and the banjo music, this place couldn't get weirder.

Wait- _banjo?_

Ivy's head snapped around, trying to pinpoint where the noise came from. A tiny light gleamed to her right, and she walked towards it wearily.

 _That's right, Ivy. Follow the light just like any good horror movie expendable-_

 _Oh, shut up, it's just to- UG!_

Ivy glared at her shoes, a (thankfully small) bog coating her already-damp boots. "I _hate_ this stuff!"

"I don' think it's sweet on you either, dearie."

Ivy started as she noticed a figure sitting on a moldy log. A wide-brimmed fishing hat hid the eyes, but Ivy could see the gleaming teeth and long fingers easily enough.

And- _red suspenders. Of course. Why not? Suspenders and a banjo, in the middle of a forest…._

"Who are you?" Ivy asked, suddenly noticing the forest had become much more like a... oh, what had her dad called it?

"Who do you t'ink I am?" It asked, snapping the suspenders.

"A hillbilly?" She guessed.

The thing let out croaked laughter and slapped its knee, prompting a bullfrog to leap up. "I' the Suspendered Man of the Bayou, Madam Human," he chortled. "And dis here  
banjo makes music in the bog! I can play ye somet'ing...if ye got a coin to pay with."

 _Hell no,_ said the logical part of Ivy, the part she prided herself on. _You keep strumming, and I'll just be on my way._

To that side's horror, some force propelled Ivy to push her hands deep into her jacket. "Uh...I gotta Euro; does that count?"

"'At's more'n fine," the Suspender Man said. He seemed to lean forward, eyes fixed on the shiny coin in Ivy's palm.

 _What are you doing? You wanna hear a banjo so bad, look it up on You...Y-Ou… You look it up when you get back, don't give this thing your money!_

But her hand was outstretched, and she flicked the coin into the urn.

* * *

 **Oh look, more bad decisions all around.**

 **If anybody caught the overbearing reference there towards the end, I both applaud you and apologize.**

 **Also- I've had to fix the formatting on this chapter like four times, so if something still seems off, let me know and I'll get it fixed.**

 **See you soon, and drop me a review!**

 **-Aria**


	19. Chapter 19

**It's Halloween Season!**

 **Opalwolf12 got the last chapter's reference! Congratulations for your music taste.**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Jack has his reasons for keeping silent about past happenings, which we may find out soon enough.**

 **Artistgirl16: A common theme people are noticing is Ivy doing the opposite of whatever she's told not to do, mainly due to her own suspicions. Will this serve her well? Most likely not.**

* * *

CHAPTER 19

 _November 13_

 _After Common Sense fails_

 _"_ Much obliged, ma'am." The Suspender Man said, tipping his hat. "Why don't you have a seat; and I'll give you what ye paid for."

 _How about NO,_ Ivy's mind snapped. But for whatever reason, her body felt heavy and she slumped down onto a log, her eyes fixed on the banjo. "My grandfather used to play," she muttered, fighting the desire to hear the music _. You're tone-deaf, Kunze, you don't understand music-_

"Did 'e?" The man asked, smiling. "It's a generation instrument, I like t' think. Stories for 'undreds of years passed down..."

"-just like...Halloween," she said, her head heavy. The man made no reply except to crack his knuckles and ignite the banjo.

Ivy wasn't sure what she's been expecting, but she was certain that the instrument before her wasn't natural. The sounds seemed to surround her, causing vibrations within her skull, and she swore she could hear voices all around-

 _"-get away! It's a trap!_ "

And there were colors now, colors and images that swirled around, and images that flickered and spin and flashed before her eyes, and why couldn't she _move_ and-

For what felt like the dozenth time that day (night?), Ivy felt hands grab her and pull her away, the banjo song still calling.

"Let go!" Ivy shouted, not bothering to look at her assailants. "You're gonna-"

 _SLAP!_

The sting on Ivy's face drove away the last of the fog, the banjo music halting entirely. The trick-or-treaters had her pinned to the forest floor, and Shock was shaking her hand out.

"I've been wanting to do that since first I saw you!" The faux witch cackled.

Ivy eyed the odd angle of Shock's wrist and fervently _wished_ that the Citizens could feel pain. She sat up, causing the other two to back away as she scanned the forest around her-no sign of the bog in sight.

"The hell was that?" She snapped, shaking her head to clear away the traces of music. "What happened?"

The three giggled, their masks shaking with the sound. "He likes to play for people," Barrel said, the scratchy tone echoing around the trees. "His soul belongs to the bog, and he gives lots of concerts…"

Her seated position put Ivy at a near eye-level with the trick-or-treaters, who took advantage gleefully.

"Didn't you like it?" Shock sneered, not noticing the slight mark on Ivy's face. "We would've let you listen longer, but sometimes humans stay too long, then they get all...moldy."

Ivy fought the urge to gag at the mental image and patted herself down, scowling. _And I've lost 2 Euro, too._

She stood, casting a glance upwards. The trees were woven together too thickly to see Halloween's paradoxical sky.

Was that the fate of the last two humans? Stuck listening to _banjo music_ for all eternity? Chills crept along her arms, and she turned to the other monsters. "Well, I don't plan on molding today. Can we get this over with?"

"Impatient human," Lock grumbled, leading the way through the thicket. "Behold!" He squawked, throwing his arms out.

Ivy raised her eyebrows as she stared at the pathetic excuse for a treehouse, boards falling off the roof and a strange metal chute surrounding the tree before disappearing down. She walked to the edge of the crevice and peered down, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"We've never figured out how far down that hole goes," Barrel said, the ominous words somewhat spoiled by his standing on Shock's head to whisper into Ivy's ear. "Rumors have it that bits of dirt, rocks and... _other items._..are still falling."

"Dirt would separate from itself from the wind," Ivy said dryly, "and even though this town's here, I'm pretty sure the center of the Earth still exists."

"So, you'll fall iiiiiinnnn!" Barrel said, determined.

"Heat would kill you before you got too far," she said, "and besides, there's a spring right there." She gestured through the fog to a small trickle of black water.

Shock swatted Lock. "I thought you covered that up!" She hissed.

Ivy stepped onto the small platform, trying not to let her stomach twist at the lack of guardrails. The trio followed eagerly, Barrel hanging off Ivy's jacket sleeve just like the younger kids at the park used to. The girl clenched her fist at the thought and yanked her arm away.

The ride was almost as rickety as Ivy's nerves, which skyrocketed as she took in the dark hole in the wall of the trio's house. She stepped into the treehouse, feeling it sag beneath her weight before muttering and settling. She eyed the strewn blankets and too-small masks, putting her hands on her hips as Lock bragged.

"This is the Fortress of Fear!" He announced proudly, as a poster of solid black slowly peeled off the wall and somewhere, liquid dropped on metal. He kept going, none of the pride leaving his voice. "Feast your human eyes on-"

"-a trashed clubhouse for punks?" Ivy asked, knocking away a soiled handkerchief.

"You bet!" Barrel said, grinning. He ran up and tugged at Ivy's jacket again. "Lookit my drawing!"

Ivy's stomach rolled as she took in the severed head, sketched with pumpkin orange crayons that were worn down to the nub.

"It's…" (Barrel's grin grew impossibly wider) "it's...not bad." She pointed to one side of the head. "Um...pretty sure most humans don't have five ears, though."

"Really? Thanks!" The childlike skeleton said, scampering back to his corner, only for Shock to smack him. "Stop bein' nice, dummins! We're supposed to be _scaring_ her!"

"The only scary thing is the hygiene of this place," Ivy said, fighting back a laugh at the look of seriousness on Shock's face. She spotted a worm and plucked it between two fingers, not seeing the trio's eyes widen with horror. Ivy dropped the worm into her palm and held it at eye level. "I mean, I got whacked by the sentient brooms the other day, so you guys do _clean_. I mean, my room was messy too..."

The three didn't move, still staring at the worm. Ivy finally noticed, a grin on her face. "What? Are you guys scared of a _worm_? That's not what I'd have pegged you for." She shoved her hand toward the three, watching them fall over themselves to get away. She rolled her eyes and flicked it down the metal tube. "There. It's gone."

The other two kept their terrified expressions, but Barrel slowly smiled.

"That was _AWESOME_!"

Lock and Shock snapped out their daze to scowl at the younger boy, while Ivy gave a mocking bow. She gingerly sat down on a dusty stool, watching as Barrel toddled closer.

"So why do you guys live out here?" She asked. "Don't you guys get mentors?"

"Once," Shock shrugged. "A prank went wrong and they went to their second grave."

Not expecting the faux witch's bluntness, Ivy stammered, "I-uh-...I'm sorry?"

All three grimaced at her. "' _Sorry?'_ That's dumb." Lock said. "We're gonna be the best trick-or-treaters _ever_ , who needs the rest of town?"

"They just kept _looking_ at us, like you're doin' now," Shock said, disgust evident. "They didn't try to help us, just _change_ us."

"We're trick-or-treaters, not _basement muckers!"_ Lock yelled, waving his tiny fist in the air.

Something tugged Ivy's foot and she looked down to see Barrel tapping it. "I like it out here better," he confided, fiddling with the mask on his face, where the evidence of self-work was clumsily displayed. "Do you?"

Ivy tilted her head. "I don't like much down here," she said. "You're...you're kinda right about the watching. I keep trying to figure out if it's actually _worth_ trying to blend in!"

"Yeah, you're _human,_ girl, not monster! What's the point?"

Ivy straightened and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "The _point_ is I don't want to get attacked for not doing things right. I'm here until next Halloween, anyway."

The trio glanced at each other but said nothing.

"And _besides_ that _,_ " she continued, "what's the point of this? Why is the front gate guarded, but your back way wasn't?"

"Edgar isn't a _guard,"_ Lock almost laughed. "He's just there to look important and watch out for rogues and new arrivals."

"Rouges?" Ivy asked, wearily adding it the growing Halloween lexicon in her mind.

"Monsters who didn't wanna stay in Halloween," Lock amended.

Ivy frowned. "So... are you guys rouges? Why don't you go further from Halloween if you hate it so much?"

The facade of the three flickered a moment, and Ivy saw a new kind of fear, one she'd become painfully familiar with.

Losing _home_.

Waving her hands and averting her gaze, Shock spoke up. "We signed the book, there's probably a rule that we gotta stay close."

"Who would we show our awesome pranks too?" Lock piled on hastily.

"I lick the bathtub."

Ivy blinked at the youngest treater's contribution. "Uh - you _like_ the bathtub, right?"

Barrel held Ivy's gaze as he leaned over and gave the clawed bathtub a small lick.

"Oh," Ivy murmured. "Silly me."

…

Jack bounced on his heels in Finkelstein's lab, listening to the Doctor murmur as he drew up theories object possession. He briefly wondered if it was worth injecting his own two cents, but the thought fled his skull as Sally walked in.

The doll was holding one of the Doctor's many notebooks, nearly dropping them when she noticed Jack. "O-Oh! King Skel-"

"Jack, please," the King interrupted gently. "You're a friend, not a subject."

"Don't give her any ideas," the Doctor said, though the tone was much lighter than normal. "Next she'll be parading around town and selling wares."

"We've all got a purpose, Doctor!" Jack laughed, noticing that a faint pink flush passed over Sally's face. Was she ill? Could rag dolls be ill? A question for later, certainly.

"Do we now, Jack?" Finkelstein said, a quiet triumph in his low voice. "And when, dear boy, will that human girl fulfill her purpose?"

"Doctor, I hardly think this is the time-"

"It's better than some," Finkelstein sighed. "She is a fascinating biological specimen, even if she is still alive, pesky creature."

"I kinda like her alive," Sally offered shyly.

"She gave you such vocabulary as ' _kinda'!"_ Finkelstein protested. "What sort of scientific articulation is that?"

"Keep calm, Doctor, you'll strain your brain again." The ragdoll moved towards her Maker, setting down a tray of soup.

"Oh! Can you cook? Who taught you that?" Jack asked, filling his empty lungs with the redolence of mildew.

"N-nobody," Sally stammered, twisting her cotton fingers. "I-ah, I taught myself, y-you see."

"That's wonderful!" Jack declared gleefully, as Finkelstein narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "I can barely cook myself, you know-keeps my frame," he added with a wink.

Sally gave herself a moment to scan said frame and marbled at the dizzy feeling it gave her. What had been going on? Did all new creations feel this way? The doll ducked her head down, allowing red hair to fall across her face.

The building shook for a moment, and all three citizens turned towards the window as the Wind howled and then abruptly died down.

"Anyway, Jack, the substitutes for the witches' supply- it will be ready for release shortly," Finkelstein continued. "Take some samples - Sally, dear, hand Jack the basket of samples - and see what you think, dear boy."

Jack accepted the basket and hummed, looking over the murky potions and shriveled leaves. "Did these come from the plants outside of town?"

Finkelstein shook his head, tiny goggles shaking. "No, I'm afraid the raw ingredients refuse to accept anybody other than the witches touching them. I explained the entire purport to them, but they remained passive. Perhaps you could look?"

"I will, Doctor," Jack promised.

Sally tilted her head and stared curiously at Jack, her almond shaped eyes growing large.

Jack blinked his own sockets back. "Err-is there something I can help you with?"

"Y-your coat is ripped in the back," Sally said, her hands twitching. "And the fabric is very old and worn...sir."

Jack swiveled his head to look down at himself. It _had_ been an embarrassingly long time since his clothes had been replaced from the purple and black stripes he'd worn in his younger days. He plucked at a frayed hem, not noticing Sally draw closer.

"I can mend it," Sally offered, her shyness fading as stitch work and patterns began flashing across her mind. "If you take your coat and shirt off, I'm sure I can make a satisfactory adjustment-"

"SALLY!" Finkelstein barked, goggles flashing. Jack waved his hands desperately - though whether it was to keep Sally away or calm the Doctor was unclear. Sally stopped obediently, her face scrunched in confusion.

"What? Is something the matter?"

"No, no," Jack said hastily, skull paler than ever. "It's just-just that-ah, I'd rather not bother you with it! I've handled my own clothes for decades-" hurt flashed in Sally's eyes- "-n-not that I don't doubt you, ha, of course, because-"

"Best quit while you're ahead, dear boy," Finkelstein stated coldly. He gestured Sally out of the room, and his creation obeyed, bewildered. "Perhaps you'd better go home, Jack-the night is young, and I don't want to keep you."

It had been ages since the Doctor dismissed him so coldly, but Jack bobbed his skull and obliged, giving a parting smile to Sally, unconsciously smoothing his flitting bowtie into submission.

He strode home, tucking his elbows into his hands behind his back as he let himself slowly rise to his full height. He was gratefully surprised at the relative quiet of the town, given that it was nearly midnight. On any other night he might have been suspicious, but he forced himself to contend with more pressing matters.

He hadn't heard from the witches, not so much as a flaming owl feather had been sent to town for nearly a week. He glanced up at the moon, which hung low and fuller than usual in the sky. The Shadow was nowhere to be seen, unsurprisingly.

He finally walked up to the manor's door, the only one in town he didn't have to stoop to get through. He fitted his nails into grooves high in the wood, slowly dragging his hand down as the door unlocked.

The house was quiet and dark, but Jack's instincts turned his attention toward a dark figure huddled on the tall stools in the kitchen.

Ivy sat in the near darkness, fingers steepled together, her eyes unfocused as she followed her line of thought, as distant to Jack as the morning mist.

He rapped on the table, startling the human from her odd trance.

"Scare for your thoughts?" He asked, still unconsciously fingering the torn part of his jacket.

The human cocked her head and stared deep into Jack's eye sockets, her own brown gaze narrowing.

She seemed to come to a decision and leaned back, her stance relaxing. "How did the meeting with Finkelstein go?"

Jack blanched. "Ah, it was, ah, very - informative," he stammered. He didn't like the knowing glint in the human's eye.

"For you or for he-oh, _sorry_ , him?"

Jack clasped his hands behind his back to hide his fidgeting fingers. "B-both, I suppose."

She raised an eyebrow at that but allowed the matter to drop. "What's that?" She asked, gesturing towards gesturing toward a large stack of papers bound in twine by the fireplace.

"Oh! You'll like this!" Jack pulled the girl off the stool and over to the stack, running a bony finger over the twine to collapse it.

At Jack's urging, Ivy picked up the top piece of paper, frowning at the smiling orange pumpkin at the top. A stick figure witch stood next to it, and a barely legible " _CARISSA_ " adorned the bottom.

"What is it?" She asked cautiously, uncomfortably with a dark suspicion.

"Oh, tributes," Jack said, waving a hand carelessly. He was leaning over her to observe Carissa's portrait, the pumpkin's grin matching his own. "We get them in hordes around our Holiday, and some extra besides! It's wonderful to hear from our loyal fans!"

"From a little kid," Ivy deadpanned, peering at the next paper (from NICK O, ROOM 3). "How do these even _get_ here?"

"The Wind, the ashes, the strange lights above the town." Jack shrugged. "Who knows? They get here all the same."

Not entirely satisfied, but too enthralled to care, Ivy pulled another thick piece of construction paper from the pile, running her fingers over the name scrawled in Spanish. The picture was slightly different, as well- with the barriletes gigantes' colors popping off the page.

A labeling of "DE" caught her eye and she sank to a cross-legged position, smiling at the image of paper lanterns and a decorated hag's head.

"Ivy?" Jack glanced at the human that now barely brushed his kneecaps and fidgeted.

"Hmm?"

"Would you say my suit is...distressing?"

Ivy looked up, squinting. "Would that be a... bad thing?" She asked after a slight pause.

"Oh, dear! It must look terrible if you notice as well!" Jack twisted around to view the jacket, missing Ivy's indignant look. "It's embarrassing, really-"

"Jack."

"-how can I call myself a leader, demand precision, when I myself look like a wayward corpse?"

" _Jack."_

"-which would be fine _for_ a wayward course, naturally, but for me? Oh, dear-"

" _Jack!"_

A short whistle finally cut off the pumpkin king's rant. Ivy gingerly set the tributes aside and stood, brushing coal dust off her pants. "It doesn't look _that_ bad, honestly. I thought it was just part of your whole getup."

"It's made a _lasting_ _impression_?" Jack asked, gazing at the human in horror. "Has it taken away from my terrifying persona? I can't have my victims _laughing_ at me!"

Ivy bit her cheek to contain her own laughter. "That's not what I - ok, never mind. You're still _very_ scary, Jack."

"Really?" He asked, doubling over to make relative eye to socket contract with the human.

Ivy tilted her head, taking in the wide blank holes, jagged collarbone peeking through the too-small shirt, and yellow teeth grinning at her shyly.

"Really," she assured softly, no hint of sarcasm in her voice. In the coming moments of silence, she cleared her throat and looked away. "A-and anyway, you don't look half as bad as I do."

"Nonsense! You're blending in _spectacularly_."

"Oh, well at least there's _that,"_ she grumbled, glancing down at her stained shirt, covered with mud, bits of leaves, and even remaining goo from the town square. She silently thanked higher powers that Citizens didn't seem mind stronger smells. She'd been scrubbing her face with the fountain water, but no _way_ she was asking about a shower.

"Why don't you get somebody to fix it if it bothers you so much?"

Jack clasped his hands behind his back and bounced on his heels. "Oh, ah, w-well, somebody _did_ offer, incidentally, but-"

"' _Offered'?_ Who?"

Jack tugged his bow tie. "...Sally," he managed. "She seems to have become proficient i-in garment repair…"

The human crossed her arms, eyes getting that faraway look again. "Did you accept?" She asked levelly.

"Weeeeelll, not _exactly,"_ Jack admitted. "You see, there was a spot of confusion, and Finkelstein was there, and-"

Ivy groaned and put her head in her hands. "Oh god, I can only imagine how _that_ went."

"He's not as bad as you seem him to be!" Jack rushed to defend. "I know you two had a bit of a tiff, and rest assured I am aware of his undying vengeance towards you-"

"Say what now?"

"-but I have decades of time spent with him, while you've spent…" He tilted his skull down at the girl. "How lonely have you been here?"

"Oh, it's been-" Ivy cut herself off, staring at the ground. "It's...been..." She trailed off. She remembered the scratches she'd left in Finkelstein's tower, in the witches' house, in the softwood by her spot upstairs. "Uh…"

Jack snapped his fingers over Ivy's rising heartbeat. "A fortnight! That's it!" Jack grinned proudly. "Well, if the clock is to be trusted. Anyway, that's hardly enough time to understand the complexities of a mad scientist."

"Two weeks," Ivy mumbled, reaching to steady herself on the stack. "Feels like it's been two years."

"Well, human perception of time is flawed," Jack added kindly. "The Town will let you adjust."

The girl didn't seem reassured, running her fingers over the broken face of her watch.

When it became clear she wasn't going to say anything else, Jack clapped her on the shoulder. "Well, I'm going to run some tests on the samples the Doctor gave me. Take care!"

He whistled an eerie tune as he stepped away, leaving the girl and her far-away gaze behind.

….

 _Just Before Dawn_

Ivy was pacing again. She tried to do it on her toes, to avoid alerting Jack, but eventually gave up when she kept catching her feet on a wayward board. She stared at her notches and silently chanted the date to herself, loath to forget again.

Although the sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon, she didn't feel tired. She'd have to plan out how much sleep she needed, and when she'd have it…but, for now, she let her restless feet slow and head toward the window, unlatching it and leaning her elbows on the sill. The pumpkin eyes stared into her own, and she took a moment to wave towards the four vampires shielding themselves from the light.

A small whimpering drew her attention, and Ivy peered around the room before dropping to the floor, peering under the bed.

The Tailypo was back, shaking in a fluffy black ball with red eyes peering widely up at her.

"What's eating you?" She asked, propping her chin on her hand and forcing her muscles to unclench.

The Tailypo shrieked and burrowed its head into its body, shuffling away from her but avoiding the underside of the bed.

"Pardon, Miss Human. I heard you were having trouble with this critter?"

Ivy closed her eyes as a new voice sounded from under the bed, silently acknowledging she'd never sleep in solitude again. "And who are you?" She asked, surprised by the apathy in her voice.

"Monster un'er the Bed, at your service."

The Tailypo (shuddered).

"What's wrong with puffball here?"

The Monster didn't appear to have any physical form, as only gleaming canines answered. "Oh, I've been tryn'a keep him outta good folks' houses. His creepin' intrudes on good scarin'!"

The juxtaposition of the western yet gritty voice was giving Ivy a headache, so she silently extended her hand toward the Tailypo. One red eye poked through the fur but otherwise didn't move.

"He hasn't been bothering me," she lied. "I'm...exposing him to human presence to improve the scaring."

The teeth clicked together thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea, Human Ivy. Shall I leave you to it?"

"If you'd be so kind," she agreed, keeping her hand open and still.

There was a small suction sound as the teeth compressed and sank through the floorboards before the Tailypo finally uncurled.

"You good now?"

The Tailypo stretched out before kneading its claws into the floor and hissing.

Undeterred, Ivy kept her face passive and stretched her palm closer. The Tailypo daintily stepped over it, coming right before her to stand on its hind legs and baring its teeth.

Girl and Citizen were briefly eye-to-eye, each sizing the other up, before Ivy blew a tuft of air into the startled creature's face, causing the Tailypo to fall back with an indignant squeak.

Ivy clambered to her feet, moving back to the window and shifting over slightly when she heard the creature's nails scrambling for a hold on the sill. It refused to look at her, but instead kept red eyes fixed on the horizon.

If one counted the skeletal roster announcing the day's arrival, it was almost a charming scene.

Until the Wind came.

* * *

 **See you next week!**

 **-Aria**


	20. Chapter 20

**Happy Saturday!**

 **Artistgirl16: I know, it feels a lot longer than two weeks that we've been with Ivy! Thanks for reading.**

 **GoldGuardian2418: The Wind certainly has a lot to say to Ivy, and we'll see how she takes it. And hooray for Jack & Ivy getting along! As soon as she relaxes a little, they can be great fun to write. **

* * *

CHAP 20

 _November 14_

 _Just after sunrise_

The Tailypo was ripped off the window with a shriek, scrambling to the relative cover of the bed.

Ivy braced her arms against the window, squeezing her eyes shut as the Wind tried to shove her off balance.

 _Close the window_ , part of her whispered.

She steadied herself and spoke before the Wind could. "You didn't tell Jack I left," she challenged. "He didn't act any differently."

" _Do NOT think it was a favor,"_ the Wind snapped, causing Ivy's eardrums to vibrate. " _The audacity of mankind will never cease to confound me!"_

Ivy attempted to slam the window shut, but the next gale shoved her away and blew the fragile glass open. She made eye contact with the Tailypo, who saw its own terror reflected in the girl's eyes.

 _"_ _Don't you realize that we are not ALL that All Hallows Eve represents? While the town is festive and welcoming, the Outer Lands hold only isolation and terror. Our enclave has barely explored these places, and yet they avoid them...but_ _ **I**_ _have seen them, my dear, and your human spirit would not be the first to be extinguished like a flame."_

Ivy was huddled by the wall, pinned to the corner as she tried to ignore the ringing in her ears. _C'mon, Jack, can't you hear this?_

"Is that what happened to the others?" She asked quietly, unsure if she could be heard.

The Wind ceased its gale but kept circling Ivy's corner as it spoke. " _Yes,"_ The Wind said bluntly. " _Halloween's first human was truly unfortunate. He was taken by Gretchen's mentor, who thought he resembled her lover from when she lived. He fled our town, and I…"_

The Wind vanished for a moment until only a small breeze danced along Ivy's neck.

 _"_ _I saw him collapse, my dear,"_ the Wind whispered. _"I tried to rouse him, to lead him back to the still-open portal...but the darkness of the Outer Lands consumed him, as did its inhabitants."_

Ivy sat up, feeling sick.

" _The next one was the same. I followed as far as I dared before the light faded."_

Ivy tucked her face into her arms, blocking as much as she could from the Wind.

"Is it the Rogues?" She asked, dry-eyed. "The ones who leave?"

" _Partly,"_ the Wind hummed, mercifully softer. _"But there is a feeling in those woods. It has a way of pulling anybody off course, of taking ones placed they'd never otherwise tread."_

 _"_ You didn't follow _me."_

The Wind grew so cold that it burned, Ivy shuddering away.

" _I was…displeased. And I am not fully subdued on that matter. But I see little point in continuing to obfuscate this. Do you understand?"_

"It seemed alright at the time," she grouched. "If everything out there is so bad, why are Lock, Shock, and Barrel fine?"

" _Did I say they were?"_ The Wind asked simply.

Ivy kept silent, trying to arrange her chaotic thoughts. The Tailypo took the opportunity to bolt from the room, muttering _"Taily"_ with disdain.

 _"_ I'm sorry I worried you," she finally said.

" _I'll overlook it this once,"_ the Wind replied, " _but next time I will forcefully deposit you in front of Jack if I must."_

Smiling slightly at the acknowledged 'next time', Ivy finally properly uncurled and looked up.

A scream echoed through the house, and Ivy nearly leaped out of her skin before hearing Jack's _"Coming!"_

 _"_ _Interesting,"_ the Wind murmured. " _You may want to join this."_

"Join what?" Ivy asked, already moving out the door and hovering at the top of the stairs.

"Excellent! If you would meet me in the town hall, I'm sure we could begin." Jack was waving off a group of Citizens, before beckoning Ivy down.

"Change of plans, Ivy- the others have come up with some proposed Halloween plans, so we'd best be off!"

"You want me to come?" She asked, watching Jack close the door and begin digging frantically through the closet.

"What? Oh, yes, naturally- look, have you seen any other jackets of mine? I _can't_ go out in this torn-"

She peered around Jack's lanky form, sporting a dusty solid black jacket. Rapping the skeleton on the knee, she held it up, nose wrinkling at the ancient stench.

"Oh, good eye- although it _might_ be a bit small for me…"

"Jack, if you turn sideways, you'll disappear," she cut in. "Wear the jacket and let's go...do what, exactly?"

The King snatched the jacket and threw it on, scanning her briefly before popping her jacket collar up. "There. Now, we plan Halloween."

He strode out, the human trailing behind, fingering the collar.

….

The Town Clown stood before the Halloween Council, holding a long tree branch and pointing to a set of detailed drawings.

"...and so personally, I believe that we have to address the issue of _location!"_ Jack, seated at the head of the table, leaned forward eagerly. The Clown grinned and continued. "It would be _so much nicer_ if we could focus on the world as a whole, not just the hubs of humanity!"

"Even places that are uninhabited?" Another chimed in. "Or would you have us frighten the polar bears and tree stumps?"

Snickers echoed around the room, except from the human, who was sandwiched between Creature from the Black Lagoon and a beady-eyed Salem, who'd hissed when the human was seated next to them.

"Of course not," he retorted. "My only point is that we do not focus solely on densely populated areas. Don't forget that we got our _start_ in the backwoods!"

"As long as this doesn't go like the time you proposed we frighten Death Under," the Mayor warned.

"I _said_ I was sorry," the Clown snapped back.

"Uh...what?"

All eyes turned to the human, who'd remained silent since their arrival, a dazed expression fixed on their face.

"The Dangerous Down Under," the Clown said impatiently.

"Surely you've heard of it?" The Black Lagoon hissed, leaning over to the human, who carefully leaned away from its acidic droplets. "The killer animals- these terrifying things called _dingoes_ chased me- and plants, the boiling sun, the wizened Upper World Citizens…"

The human's eyes lit up (though not nearly to the extent that bioluminescence did), and the small mouth quirked up before resuming a serious countenance. "Of course," they said seriously. "My mistake."

The Clown took his seat, at Jack's nod. "Anybody else?" The pumpkin king offered.

Salem twitched in the narrow seat. "Gibbet decoration," came the muffled voice. "Too much emphasis on the noose or grave. Desensitized."

Jack _hmm'd_ thoughtfully. "The overexposed of our elements is both a blessing and a curse," the skeleton king mused, prompting vigorous nodding from the council. "Any suggestions on amending this?"

"Surrounding area?" Someone suggested. "Perhaps a pool of black mud?"

"I think that'll amount to more irritation than fright," Jack cut in kindly, glancing at the human. "But it's a good start. Anybody else?"

"Manipulate the moonlight?" The Clown offered, hoping to redeem himself after the reminder of the Death Under disaster.

"Not bad," Jack grinned, and Salem perked up. "Salem, where should the moonlight shine?"

Salem's head twitched, dark eyes peering thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Perhaps leave the gallows in shadow...with the light before it, welcoming the Frightened."

The Clown snuck a glance to the human's face, which has gone slightly pale as they gazed at their hands, brow furrowing. _I'd count that as a win,_ he thought to himself.

Jack seemed to think so as well. "We'll propose the idea to the Shadow on the Moon. I'm sure it'll work out splendidly." He ran a finger down the spider-silk paper. "Next?"

"I have a question," said another. The reptilian head slowly extended toward the human. "Do you think it would be more effective to split up the human groups or scare them as one?"

"Huh?"

"Humans are banding together more and more for both trick or treating and safety, Ivy," Jack explained. "What should we do with these groups?"

Ivy the Human opened her mouth, an indignant look on her face, before closing her eyes and breathing out slowly.

"Um...splitting up the group would...make th- _us..._ them on edge," she stammered. Another breath and the eyes opened. "If you found a way to mimic the voices is the other group, you could manipulate what they think is real." She leaned back in the chair, crossing her arms.

"Certainly, an effective idea," Jack praised, bony fingers waving. "We'd have to do large groups of monsters to make sure we're not out outnumbered, then pick the scares…"

"I've got my own question about that, actually," Ivy interrupted, sitting up a bit straighter. The Clown observed the gleam in thei- in _her_ eye, and shifted closer to the Human Dweller.

"Yes?" Jack asked, patience unlimited, and seemingly oblivious to the keen eyes of the council.

"How _do_ you guys pick scares?" She asked. "Just go off what has worked in the past, or is it specific to each pers- _Victim?"_ '

 _She's missing most of her words_ , the Clown observed. _Maybe they ain't teach humans to talk proper yet._

" _Excellent,"_ Jack grinned, all the energy that the Citizens relied on coming to light. "A bit of _both,_ really. We can't always know what works best, naturally, but if we've observed, say, a Victim avoiding the dark, we'll get rid of the light."

"So... subconscious fear?" She asked, brow furrowing once more. "What if somebody's afraid of something stupid, like, the color red? How would you figure that out?"

"For something that specific we'd asked Chifte and Augur," the Clown interjected, lazily waving over to the monsters in question. "They're much better at that."

Augur scanned the table before locking eyes with the Clown. "Would you like a demonstration?" Asked the gravelly voice.

"Augur, I _said_ I was sorry," he protested. "Why can't you use somebody else?"

"I will," came the placid answer. He lay a hand on Chifte's arm (currently mimicking Salem's form) and closed his multiple eyes, inhaling the air before the Clown.

"Uh...did I miss something? What are you- _mmff!"_

"Best not to disturb his work," Lagoon advised, keeping one webbed hand over Ivy's mouth. "We've all been subject to his gaze; it won't take but a moment."

Ivy's eyes widened, and she attempted to twist away, only for Augur to open three eyes, letting go of Chifte.

The shapeshifter grinned widely at the Clown. "Still not used to it?"

"You can hardly blame me," he muttered as Salem's form split down the middle, white goo leaking down the side of the chair. Chifte's true form flickered for a brief instant before solidifying into…

...a handheld vacuum cleaner.

Ivy snickered, along with some of the bolder members of the Council, as the Clown shrunk away.

"They _move!"_ He protested. "They'll be standing there, completely dormant, then explode to life! It's not _natural!"_

The vacuum cleaner revved once before cracking again.

"Chifte," Jack sighed, almost parental in nature, " _please_ try to contain the mess."

"Oh, it'll dissolve, Jack," a spiked rat managed between peals of laughter.

The half-white goo turned in his direction before condensing into a rubber ball.

Ivy cocked her head. "How's that scary?"

The Clown dove past the Mayor to grab Chifte's new form, squeaking the toy twice and watching the rat jump.

"I don't even have to consult Augur," the toy said, sounding impossibly smug. "Your fear is as predictable as ever!"

"If you'd stepped on them as much as I have," the rat snickered, terror set aside, "you wouldn't be making fun!"

Ivy slowly smiled as the monsters recalled other traps and terrors of the above-

"Flashlights!"

"Flagpoles!"

" _Horses!"_

"They do have weird teeth," Ivy agreed, looking far more relaxed. Augur blinked his eyes before leaning toward the human girl, inhaling the air once more.

The human stiffened instantly. "Hold on, I didn't say that was- are you reading _my_ mind?"

"Lots of interesting things up there," Augur spoke casually, ignoring the girl's protests. "You'll forgive me for my hastiness- I am only able to take the strongest feelings at this moment."

"You _what?"_ Ivy was half out of the seat, her posture rigid. "Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but I'd appreciate it if-"

"Got it!" Chifte said brightly.

Another cracked from, and Chifte became…

…one of the council members.

"Wonderful!" said Lagoon, slapping the council member on the shoulder. "Good to know you can still properly scare a human!" The rest of the council cheered as the human turned bright red. The Clown tilted his head, confused. Jack himself held absolutely still, sockets taking in every detail of the girl's discomfort.

"Ah, human," said the mimicked council member, twisting their rotten face into a smile. "I'm honored!"

"M-Maybe it didn't work right," she stammered. "Try again?"

"If you'd like," Augur said, sending an image to Chifte once more. The council member split, joining the other husks, before morphing once more...

...into a bunny with bat wings.

"Oh, come on!" Whined the mimicked council member. "None of _you_ lot ever thought I was scary!"

"Oh, come _on,"_ Ivy echoed, though her knuckles went white against the chair arms. "That was when I was a _kid,_ and it was never...both at once."

The bunny blinked at her before morphing into a full bat, swooping around the human's head. The Council laughed, spirits restored as the girl ducked, her eyes growing wide. "O-ok, that enough, alright? Is this necessary?"

"It's the easiest," Augur stated calmly, barely audible over the Council's renewed cheers. "Your true fears do not seem to have a physical form, unless…"

"Unless what?" Ivy asked wearily, as the bat landed in front of her. "I don't _want_ to see whatever you think-"

Without warning, the bat morphed into another human, brown hair cropped short, with large purple glasses hiding narrowed eyes. The face contorted and Ivy let out a strangled sound, shoving away from the table until the chair caught on the ever-present snag in the carpet and she toppled over. Chifte assumed the Clown's form (much to his annoyance) and reached to offer a hand to the girl.

"You alright?" She asked, adopting the Clown's absurd grin.

The human girl scrambled up, eyes fixed on the husk of the other human. Her fingers fiddled nervously with her jacket.

"Plenty of humans fear other humans," the Mayor said, face still optimistically cheery.

"I'm not _scared_ of her," she snapped, shock forgotten. "It's just...never mind. It's not important. The bat-bunny hybrid was worse."

"Are you sure?" The Clown asked doubtfully. "Augur can get something el-"

"I'm _positive,"_ the human ground out, setting the chair upright. "So, tell me how that trick works Upstairs…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 _Same day_

 _2:46pm_

Ben held a stack of his mom's papers, wincing in sympathy at the various red marks decorating the page.

The door _whooshed_ open, gliding across the carpet as Bezata's Vans came into his peripheral vision.

Defensively, she held up another stack of paper. "Herr Hofmann is sending these over from aristocrat studies."

Ben groaned and waved to a semi-blank spot on the desk, marred only by eraser crumbs. "I will be _so_ glad when this assignment is over."

Bezata gave a slight hum. "Are we going to do those little boots for der Nikolaustag?" She asked casually.

Ben let his pen hover over the paper, thinking of the staff shoving candies and lesson coupons into the kids' shoes. An image of Ivy spearing the chocolate strawberries popped unbidden into his head.

"Probably," he said neutrally, moving to cross out a portion of the student's essay. "The kids closed it, and more parents dropped by than normal."

"I could get my mom to stitch their names onto each boot," Bezata offered hesitantly. "And she knows a guy at _Confiserie Selbach_ -"

"You mean she practically _owns_ that candy shop **,"** Ben replied tensely. "I think it was better when we did things ourselves."

"But I just wanted to hel-"

The door opened again, this time bringing a gust of wind, scattering Ben's papers. He shouted and dove after them, and both turned to see a small, spiky-haired child peering around at them.

"Hey, Lars," Ben yelled over the wind. "Shut the door!"

The boy did so, eyes darting to the mess.

" _Was passiert?"_ Bezata asked, brow furrowing at the boy's expression.

Lars clutched the zipper of his jacket like a lifeline, rubbing it nervously between his fingers. He stated at Ben, eyes large as the young man put his papers aside and crouched in front of him.

His gaze flickered to Bezata before stammering, "Is it true that Ivy's missing?"

Ben froze and sucked in a breath, remembering the American officials' cold expressions.

"We haven't seen her," Bezata says carefully, kneeling as well. "But her parents and police are looking, and I'm _sure_ -" she glanced to Ben, "-she'll be around soon."

"No need to worry about her, Lars, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Lars bristled. "She can't be _fine,_ she said she's _stuck_ ," he snapped, then threw his hand over his mouth in horror.

The reaction was instantaneous.

" _What?"_

"You've _spoken_ to her?"

"No! Not really! I, I mean- _uggg."_ Lars groaned and buried his face in his gloved hands.

"Lars, if you've seen her, you've got to tell the polizei!" Ben resisted the urge to shake the child for information.

"I had a dream about her!" Lars yelled, voice growing shrill.

Ben sighed, though from relief or disappointment he wasn't sure.

"I know we're all worried-" Ben began, ignoring Bezata's snort.

"She was _mean,"_ Lars cut him off. "But she told me she was...she was _stuck,_ but that she was…" He chewed his lip. "'Trying to get back.' That's what she said."

Ben felt a chill run down his spine and he fought to keep a calm expression. "I'm sorry about that," he said carefully. "But unless you've actually _seen_ her-"

"She said your middle name is Marie," Lars blurted. "'Like the French.'" His voice dropped in pitch to imitate Ivy's, but Ben barely noticed. His hand was frozen on Lars' shoulder, mind racing.

 _"_ _My grandparents were French; it's perfectly normal!" He defended to the then-giggling 12-year-old._

 _"_ _Oh, of course, it's very-" she took a gulping breath, fighting her grin. "H-historical here too, no worries, it's just that-"_

 _"_ _What?" He'd asked, silently glad that she was smiling for the first time in weeks._

 _She leaned forward, eyes sparkling with mirth. "I think it suits you, is all."_

 _"_ _All right," he interrupted her raillery with a small smile of his own. "Don't tell anybody, ok? If it's this amusing to you, I don't want to hear the kids with it."_

 _"_ _I promise," she said, still grinning as she hooked her pinkie around his. "Tried and true binding honor around the world."_

 _"_ _My confidence is overwhelming," he replied dryly, nevertheless shaking her pinky in return._

He'd forgotten all about it. What was going on? How could Lars _guess_ a thing like that? _Unless..._

He shook away the thought, painfully aware of the gazes on him.

"What else was in your dream?" Bezata asked, expression guarded.

"She didn't say _where_ she was, but then she started yelling at me and telling me to find you here at school and to tell you and a-and I started to wake up and, and this _thing_ pulled her away and she just _disappeared-"_

 _"_ Breath, Lars," Ben said, running his thumbs over the shaking shoulders. "It sounds like it was just a nightmare. She sometimes had you give me messages, right? It's nothing to worry about." He paused, then added: "But if you want to talk about another nightmare with her...let us know, ok?"

"Ok," Lars sniffed. "It's not my fault, right?"

"Of course not!" Bezata assured, giving the boy a loose hug. "You didn't _choose_ the dream, did you?"

"Nuh-uh," he agreed, tears lessening. His watch beeped, and he jumped, pulling away from their hands. "I have to get the bus," he said, inching toward the door. "Thanks." He opened the door hesitantly, but the wind appeared to have passed, with only a small breeze dusting the room.

They let him go before dropping their smiles, Ben running his hands through his hair and trying to think.

"Ben-"

"Don't," he cut off, taking a breath. "You can't tell me that wasn't a _little_ strange!"

"Why would she tell Lars that about you?" Bezata asked, rising as well. "Of all the things to identify herself-"

" _That's_ what you're worried about?" He asked in disbelief. "Don't tell me you believe him!"

"Of course not!" Bezata snapped hotly. "I'm just wondering why she would have told him before she left, is all. He's clearly experiencing guilt he knows, or whatever."

The image Lars painted shone brightly in Ben's head. He could almost _h_ _ear_ her giving the tense instructions before vanishing. He ground his teeth. "Anything else?"

It looked like she was about to respond before she sighed, anger deflating. "Never mind. I'll keep an eye on Lars if you want."

"I want you to leave," he said flatly. "Forget about Lars. Like you said, it's just a nightmare."

Bezata nodded dejectedly and left, bracing herself against the renewed wind.

* * *

 **der Nikolaustag/St. Nicholas Tag- happens on December 6th, when kids put out their boots and get little treats inside! And there are often parades and such as well.**

 **Confiserie Selbach- candy store in downtown Stuttgart. It is delicious and has an old-timey feel to it, with lots of great chocolates and packaging!**

 _ **Was passiert?-**_ **what's happening, but also commonly used for 'what's wrong?' along with _'was ist lost?"_ **

**Also! If any of you are over on Wattpad, user MinteRose has (with full permission from me) been uploading chapters of _Tricked Out_ to give us a wider audience! Some _brilliant_ cover art has been designed for the book as well. And for those preferring Ao3, I will be uploading the entire story there once it's actually complete. No need to make more people wait! **

**See you next week,**

 **-Aria**


	21. Chapter 21

**What's this? A middle of the week update? Well, like many of my American readers, I'll be traveling to spend some time with family this week, and am not overly confident with the hotel's wifi. So expect the next chapter to be the following Saturday!**

 **Corona Pax: Wonderful review as always! I'm certainly starting to find a rhythm to writing these chapters, though of course I hope for them each to be a distinctly memorable experience. I have to stop myself from getting** _too_ **much into Halloween Town's functions- the town is so utterly fascinating, and figuring out everybody's different interpretation of day-to-day life there is so fun to see in each fic, as it differs from story to story.**

 **Tmntfan4ever: Of course I remember you, welcome back! I'm glad you noticed the change in** _Tricked Out_ **'s tone and quality- I like to think the writing is maturing along with the story. There are bits from the first few chapters that I'd ideally like to change, but I'll most likely leave it as a benchmark for my progress. Writing this is allowing me to analyze language and themes much more in depth than I would have thought! I always strive to improve** _Tricked Out_ **'s readability,so if anybody had any suggestions, feel free to chime in!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: I'm so glad for your continued interest in Ivy's story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chuck Norris'ssister : Thanks and enjoy!**

* * *

CHAP 21

 _November 14_

 _Just after sunset_

Angus massaged his wingtips, determined not to let his frustration show. He made eye contact with another monster and grit his teeth, bunching his muscles, feeling each tendon stretch before he leapt into the sky- again.

He managed one, two, three flaps before his left wing gave out and he went spiraling down.

Focusing his energy, he snapped his right wing out again, managing a small circle before landing smoothly.

"Well done!"

Angus turned, grotesque smile ready, only to see Jack congratulating Vinnie, who'd managed to weave between the small cemetery obstacle course without falling. He let his wings drop, dejected.

"Seems as if you can only get to three before you need to change positioning," Angus' mentor said, adding a mark to the rock displaying Angus' falls. The tally was depressingly high. "You need to be in position to dive by flap three."

"I _know,"_ Angus snapped. "And I'll get it, I promise. But everybody else is doing Jack's course- shouldn't I try?"

"Not until you can prove this new skill of yours will be useful," came the reprimand. "What use will burrowing be when you cannot dive quickly into it?"

"It's too busy," Angus protested, wings tightening. "Everybody else is here, and-"

"You did it at Designation Day, with a plenty large crowd," his mentor interrupted, red eyes narrowing. "Do you need the _human_ to tell you what to do?"

He gestured over to the Hanging Tree, where Ivy sat underneath, collar popped up. She glanced away from the nearby forest and waved, swatting away a noose attempting to catch her arm.

Angus gave a tense smile in return, still bristling from his mentor's comment.

"I can do it," he flexed his wingtips again, tending up for another jump. "Just you wait."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

By the time a short break was called an hour later, Angus had only managed the trick once. "I'm not even sure if I can count that one," his mentor had snorted helpfully. "You sent dirt _everywhere."_

Angus slumped by the twisted rocks on the outer edge of the cornfield, looking away from Jack eagerly congratulating more of his peers.

"If somebody throws their head at me one more time, I think I'll just chuck it into the woods." Ivy sat down heavily beside the bat, rubbing her forehead.

Angus scowled. "You were screaming the first few times."

"Yeah, well, I'm not in the habit of catching the heads of kids," she retorted, shoulders hiking up.

"Your _practice_ wasn't much better."

"From what I saw, neither was yours."

There was a tense pause and Ivy slowly breathed out. "Alright, I- I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" She cleared her throat and fiddled with her jacket collar. "What're they doing next?"

"Field test, probably." Angus wasn't sure if he wanted to see the shifty human or the other, _successful_ monsters, and began plucking dead grass from the earth. "It's not that bad."

He could practically _feel_ Ivy repressing her question, finally choosing instead to clear the dirt beside her. Angus felt his interest perk up once more upon seeing tiny letters and symbols sketched into the ground.

"What's that?" he asked, ire forgotten as he swatted her hands from the dusty ground.

"Nothing, really-" she protested, her face flushing. "I was just, um, thinking..."

Her handwriting was cramped and messy, with multiple arrows leading to other notes (i _s gravity/rate of acceleration the same here? Find apple tree)_. He saw his own name, along with a tally of the other monsters (Angus flight 1- Δ _t: 3 seconds (fix watch), flight 2; Δt: 4 seconds…_

Angus glanced at the human, who was turning her stuck-turned-pencil over in her hands. "Were you…. tracking my practice?"

She shrugged, a jerky motion. "I mean; I was watching everybody," she said, flapping her hands toward another set of scratch marks. "And I noticed you stayed in the air longer as time went on, so…"

"Yeah, my mentor said the same thing," he muttered, "when he wasn't pointing out how high I _can't_ fly."

"Did you get hurt or something?" Ivy asked, her twitchy fingers finally stilling.

Angus went stiff, his wings suddenly feeling so overwhelmingly _wrong_ under the human's gaze.

"I... uh..." He entertained the thought of lying before slumping his shoulders, wings bending awkwardly on the dark ground. "I'm just...not good at flying," he ground out. "I was a lot worse when I first died, but...they just don't _work,_ Ivy!"

He turned to face her abruptly, one wingtip dragging through more of Ivy's notes ( _how many bandages does Vinnie have? Can they support weight? Test.)_

"I _have_ to get it right!" He gripped Ivy's leg with his class, not noticing her wince. "How am I supposed to be a Spotter, or a Scarer-or even a _bat-_ if I don't fly?"

"You're not _just_ a bat," Ivy argued, optimistically ignoring the claw in her skin. "Look at how well you can dig! That diving trick is going to look absolutely-"

"I can't even get _that_ right!" He wailed. "I kept _trying_ to get the flap down, get higher, but-"

" _Scheiße, OW!"_ She peeled his claw off, dumping it atop a crude caricature of Jack.

" _Look_ ," she began, holding her hands defensively over her knees, "all you need to do is figure out exactly how far you can go with each fall, and how high you _need_ to go."

"But it's not that-" oh, he wished he were like Jack, so he could find the words to make her understand. "I can't just _give up."_

"Why not?" She asked. "Wouldn't it be easier to perfect something that you're actually capable of?"

"You...you don't think I can _ever_ get better at flying?"

"Do you think you can?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, only half-noticing the monsters gathering together once more. "I _want_ to. Haven't you ever gotten better something?"

"Angus, I don't know how it is for monsters, but people aren't _born_ knowing how to do everything."

"That's not what I-"

"Break's over!" Yelled Angus' mentor, glaring at his apprentice. "Come on back, flyboy."

"You too, Ivy," Jack called in a much kinder tone. "We could use your help with this."

" _What?"_

Angus grabbed the protesting human's hand, pulling her back toward the practice area. "Let's see _you_ try this stuff!"

"This is- hey, watch it! -ridiculous."

"That's what I'm hoping for."

"You little-"

"Gather around, let's give this a try!" Jack waved a smaller monster forward, who grinned up at the skeleton in adoration.

"Now, Fang here is going to take his eyes out and give them to me," Jack explained, looking around to each member of the circle. "He'll stand in the middle of the field, and each of you will have to make your way through without Fang detecting you!"

The monster children nodded eagerly, watching as Fang pushed his four eyes out and dropped them into Jack's outstretched palm,

Angus glanced at the top of the human's head, wondering if she'd allow him to take off from there so he could glide over the course. Her hand had flown to her face, where she unconsciously traced the edges of her own eye.

"Remember, be aware of how much space you take up," Jack warned, bending his legs in a spider-like fashion. "Smaller isn't always the best. Most of you are higher level Scarers, I'm expecting a lot from you."

He gently spun Fang around before lining them all up, gesturing for Vinnie to go first.

The mummy narrowed her eye and slowly let her bandages unroll, the white-yellow gauze bunching behind her until she slowly rose off the ground, the bandages extending her legs until she towered high over the small group, who gazed up in reluctant envy. She lifted one of the stilt-like legs and stepped forward-

Tap.

Fang lifted his hand from Vinnie's bandages almost apologetically. "Sorry, Vin, but I could hear the Wind in your bandages."

" _Heyyyyy!_ " Vinnie whined to the sky. "No fair, Wind!"

"I apologize, Miss Vinnie," the Wind replied, causing Ivy to wince at the volume.

"Hmpf." Vinnie crossed her arms and slowly shrank, binding herself once more.

"Next!" Jack called, beckoning to a spider-child.

One by one the monster went down the line, Angus electing to burrow under the field until Fang thought to feel for vibrations.

When it was her turn, Ivy rocked on her heels at the start, watching as Fang stretched his hands out. Jack gave Ivy a thumbs-up as she stepped onto the field.

Ivy bent down slowly, grabbing a rock. Fang was slowly swirling his head side to side, his large nose trying to pick up her scent.

She crept forward, trying to push aside the states of the other monsters. _I'm probably doing so many things wrong._

She eyed the boundary of the gauntlet, wondering if she could forfeit. Angus' beady eyes met hers and he subtly shook his head before tapping his own nose. He pointed to a stack of rotting leaves and then tapped his nose again before tucking his claws under his wings.

Fang opened his nose, giving Ivy another addition to her _terrifying images_ list, and began to circle toward Ivy. Panicking, she crouched down and grabbed the leaves, wincing at the _crunch_ inside the dampness, before letting the Wind scatter the remnants toward Fang, masking her scent. Fang turned away, extending a clawed hand.

 _This is more like it,_ she thought. Keeping her footfalls light, she slowly slipped into a hyper-focus as she navigated her way around sticks, small pits, the finish line just in sight-

 _Tap._

Fang's claw retracts from Ivy's shoulder. "Your hair's horrible, but it's noisy!"

Ivy's fingers darted to her wrist, where a thin hair tie sat innocently. Face flushed, she tied her hair up and stalked to the rest of the monsters, dropping her gaze from Jack's optimistic face.

Jack watched the rest of the class trickle through the course, more slipping past Fang as time wore on. Jack handed the monster back his eyes at the end, giving them all a smile.

"Well done, all of you!" The monsters gathered closer, save for Ivy, who still had her hands shoved deep in her pockets, gazing at the ground. "Be sure to remember that while you know each other's strengths and weakness, the ones you scare will not. Make sure you cover each other! For example...what's Vinnie's strength, everyone?"

"Being a pest," someone muttered, and the class giggled nervously. Jack raised a non-existent eyebrow.

"I'd be careful," he warned in a neutral tone, "she's still the best at discovering your hiding places."

The mummy in question flapped her bandages on the ground, her yellow eye gleaming smugly.

"So, somebody who's bad at seeking should team up with her," Angus said, keeping his gaze deliberately away from the monster who'd made the snide remark (notorious for losing Hide and Shriek).

The monster flashed orange but remained silent.

"Exactly, Angus!" Jack praised. "Teaming up will not only lead to more effective scares, but keep you focused and safe as well. Check in with your mentors, but otherwise you're done for the night."

"I wish," Angus grouched. "I'll be diving into the dirt all night at this rate."

"We'll match, at least," Ivy joked, brushing a clump of dirt from her jacket. "The Hanging Tree kept dropping dirt onto me."

Angus' small mouth quirked up before he walked over to his mentor, wings dragging long trails in the dirt.

"What did you think?" Jack asked, tucking his elbows into his hands and leaning down to Ivy.

"It was one of the better group activities I've done,' she admitted, unconsciously straightening as much as she could. "There was a lot of different skill levels, though- why have them all together?"

Jack chuckled and turned towards the path leading to town, Ivy glancing at the forest briefly before sprinting to catch up.

"I find it much more beneficial to gather them all," Jack explained, "because their mentors can focus on them as individuals- I need them to recognize each monster's value."

"But you're the _Pumpkin King,"_ she protested. "Shouldn't you be working with the best?"

"Oh, I do," he assured. "But making time for each- well, it keeps them interested and keeps _me_ up to date on each talent. The group activities are such fun…"

"I hadn't thought of it like that," she admitted. "At home, usually you never interact with the higher level until you _are_ one...mentors usually change, too."

"Different mentors? Whatever for?"

Ivy shrugged, her mind grasping for the foggy memories. "To make sure kids learn different styles, and that mentors wouldn't play favorites- but everyone knew they did."

"The different styles are an interesting idea," Jack mused, letting his gaze sweep the human. Her own eyes were fixed on the rough terrain below her still-uncertain feet. Her ponytail was low and crooked, and Jack suppressed the urge to straighten it.

"Were you a mentor?" He asked.

Ivy's footfalls stumbled before she continued, fiddling with her zipper pocket. Jack waited patiently for her thoughts to manufacture.

"Yeah, I guess," she finally said. "Didn't go so well, really. Kid drove me nuts."

They came over the swell of the hill, the gates of Halloween looming before them.

"I mean, he would _not_ stop talking," Ivy continued, "and he was always asking me to show him the most _basic_ of skills- I mean, _Ollies?_ I'd have to say, 'Lars, that's a total waste of time-", don't get me _started_ on how much practice time I lost."

"I suppose that happens, when you begin to assume responsibilities,' Jack said mildly. "You still had a mentor though, correct? How did they keep sharp?"

"Oh, Dodgers? Well, he…" she trailed off, looking puzzled. "He… he doesn't' really skate much anymore. Too busy running the place…" she looked up at Jack, her eyes wide. "Do _you_ stay in practice with scaring?"

"Of course!" He let himself fix her flattened collar. "When I can, naturally, with the children, but sometimes…" his grin faded as he thought back. "But there does always seem to be _something_ to do-"

"Jack! Jack!" The Mayor's pointed hat was visible through the gates.

"Well, speak of the Devil," Ivy muttered.

"Let's try not to," Jack said, just as quietly.

"We had a manager like him once," Ivy said, warming to the subject, "and he'd do the same thing, but-"

They stepped through Halloween's gates and her sentence evanesced all at once.

"What is it?" Jack asked, unable to look at the confusion he knew would show on her face.

"Uh...what was I... never mind," she shook it off. "Wonder what the Mayor wants?"

"One way to find out," Jack grinned falsely, tossing her a wink. "You can go if you like- I'll see what I can do for our mayor."

"Ok!" Ivy blinked, pleasantly surprised. "I'll see you later?"

"Naturally." Jack watched her wander away, letting his grin slip briefly. _It's necessary,_ he reminded himself, _but I suppose that doesn't make it any easier to watch._

"Now, Mr. Mayor," Jack said, cheerfully returning to his amused countenance, "what can I do for you?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Halloween Town, Ivy had decided, was quite ironically _alive._

Despite the head removal and rotting pumpkin smell (which Ivy wearily accepted she would smell for the rest other days, no matter if- _no, when-_ she got out), the Citizens seemed just as vibrant and _active_ as their Upperwold counterparts. Even now, with the back streets of town sparse and the night in full force, Ivy swore she could feel the town _breath_ around her, the goo bubbling beneath the streets making the cobblestones vibrate, and the occasional pumpkin scream breaking the relative silence.

Briefly, she wondered if she'd ever be able to figure out when there was _real_ danger in town, and promptly dismissed the thought.

She kicked a stone aimlessly, wondering if the Creature could be bothered for another pot of tea, quietly chanting what couldn't be forgot.

" _Mamma hei_ _ßt Selina, Papa heißt Tom,"_ she murmured, kicking a yellow-spotted pebble. " _Wir wohnen ins Stuttgart, Deutschland. Mein Bruder heißt Anton, und er ist fünf- sechs? Nein, seib- UGG!"_

She kicked the pebble as hard as she could, not expecting to hear a metal _clang!_ and see it come flying back.

Rubbing the sore spot on her arm, she glanced up at her apparent destination: The Witches' house.

Ivy let her eyes roam over the abandoned shack, wondering exactly what the witches were doing in their absence. Was Rosie ok? Helga still disparaging humankind? What if Gretchen believed her?

Ivy pushed the thought aside, deciding she'd think positively if it killed her.

Which, given the town, just might.

Ivy nudged the door open with her foot, letting the moonlight cast her shadow across the floor. _Well,_ she reasoned, _if the Wind isn't showing up to tell at me, it can't be all that bad._

The storeroom was easy to find, despite the darkness. Matches apparently weren't necessary to those with firepower, but the old kerosene lantern revealed itself from under a shelf. The room pressed around the pale glow as Ivy slowly walked around, giving the screaming book a wide berth.

A crowbar peered over the edge of a box, and she hefted it out, wincing at the weight. " _Not much use,"_ she said, " _unless maybe the door is wedged shut?"_ She set it aside anyway, looking back into the book for anything that might aid her escape. Pushing aside broken goggles and empty beakers, she blew dust off old labels and frowned.

" _Poison Oak Itch Activation? No! Don't you guys have anti-gravity potion or something?"_ She pulled out what appeared to be a clunky CB radio, heart rate spiking before noticing the dented sides and snapped antenna. Ivy fiddled with the dials halfheartedly, nearly dropping it when a sonorous voice drifted from the radio without a hint of static.

" _...the world is ending. If you cannot hide, then you must run. If you cannot run, then you must die. Buy Clorox Bleach today!"_

Ivy started before leaning down and listening to the human voice, wondering if she should take any meaning from the cryptic warning. She focused on trying to find the source of power when she realized the voice had switched languages.

" _Wir wissen nicht was der Mann in der braunen Jacke wollte, aber wir hoffen, es ist nicht unheimlich…"_

Experimentally, she flipped the dial all around, searching for other stations, but it seemed only the man dominated the airways.

"... _and the kittens are just_ _ **adorable,**_ _listeners!"_ The man squealed in German. _"Of course, feeding hovering kittens will always pose a challenge, but Koscheck had been wonderful in teaching them…"_

She slumped back onto the floor, hardly caring about the countless (mostly) sentient dust bunnies, when she noticed the coil of a rope hanging over another box, tucked high on a shelf.

She turned her current (and thankfully empty) box over, balancing as she shifted, dimly hearing the radio murmur, " _...ight Vale. Goodnight."_

An empty silence filled the room as she reached into the dark, just as stark green eyes opened before her.

"Oh, _joy,_ _"_ the eyes said, at the same time a screeching erupted from the radio.

Ivy shrieked and lost her balance, collapsing onto the box and scattering Rosie's posy collection.

" _Welcome!"_ the radio announced cheerfully, now with a female presenter, " _to the Four Hours of Tearing Metal Station!"_

"Turn that off, will you?" Said the eyes lazily, leaping down to the floor in the form a seemingly normal (albeit talking) black cat.

Ivy gaped, hardly noticing the next metallic shriek. "It's- uh- it's not connected to a-anything," she stammered.

"Well, _obviously,"_ the cat snarled, kicking the radio with a long back leg, disconnecting the appendage from the socket briefly. The radio shut off with a mournful _click!_

"Oh, you _have_ made a mess," the cat continued with disdain, raising its pointed chin. "Human clumsiness is _most_ irritating."

"Sorry?" She replied, tucking the crowbar into her lap. The cat didn't seem to be the most threatening creature, but Ivy would bet her board there was something _unnatural_ about it (overlooking the grasp of spoken language, naturally).

The cat rolled its eyes, and wondering where it had learned to do that distracted her nicely for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, gripping the crowbar tightly. "Don't you belong to the witches?"

The cat puffed up, looking indignant. "I don't _belong_ to anybody," it sniffed. "But I _do_ lend my expertise of Spell-Casting to the Ladies Helga and Gretchen, regardless." The cat thrashed its tail, drawing the small, lithe body up. "For I am Jasper, the Black Cat of Misfortune, he who walks unseen, with the strength of-"

"Oh yeah! Rosie said she braids lilies into your fur sometimes."

Jasper deflated, looking annoyed. "Yes, well... I'll train that apprentice to better appreciate her betters." He yawned and stretched his claws. "So, Human Ivy, why are you poking around in my Mistresses' things?"

"I was picking up some stuff I left," she said, thinking fast, "and then I got curious-"

"-which I could believe, and even endorse, but not only do you not have nine lives to bring you back, but I doubt those tiny pockets of yours brought anything of significant value. You've got nothing but what you're wearing, girl."

"You hang out more with Helga, don't you."

"That's beside the point," Jasper replied smoothly. He elegantly stepped over scattered petals and brews before leaping onto the store book's stand. "Let's see what they've managed to find out there, hmm?"

"NO!" Ivy yelled, scrambling over as Jasper nonchalantly flipped open the book. "You're going to-" she stopped as no face or scream arose from the pages, with only Gretchen's messy scrawl to be seen. "Uh..."

"That defense is only for _intruders,"_ the cat said smugly, "of which I am certainly _not._ I can access it at my own discretion. Come closer if you must, but keep your clumsy human fingers off it."

Ivy stood behind the cat's shoulder, eyes widening at a familiar page.

 _Stinging Nettle...4_

 _Poison Ivy...0_

 _Giant's Wart...6_

 _Nightshade...8_

The long trails of zeros had been replaced with steadily rising numbers, but Jasper tsk'ed over one entry.

"No more peach blossoms? Ah, the tree must be dead again. They're in such rare supply… I might as well go get them from the human world now."

"You've only got _one_ tree for- wait, _WHAT?"_

Jasper hopped from the stand, heading toward an innocent-looking old cabinet, trailing a veneer of nonchalance behind him. "I'll be back in a moment- don't touch _anything."_

The black cat's tail disappeared as the cabinet closed softly.

Ivy froze, her body locked and mind racing before snapping to action, throwing open the door and dropping to her hands and knees. The cabinet was completely barren.

She wormed her way into the tight space, the dark closing around her as she her limbs knocked against the walls. The air grew hot from her breath as she moved around, ignoring the quiet and tightness coiling in her stomach, frantically patting at the walls and floor.

"Alright, that place has traps n- _WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?"  
_

 _"_ _AHHHH!"_

Jasper was half-phased through the back wall, a bunch of peach blossoms clamped in his jaws. Ivy slammed her hand onto the flickering wall, only to meet solid wood.

"Get out of here, you stupid girl! You're confusing it! You'll get me cut in half!" When the girl didn't relent, he rolled his eyes and swiped a paw across her face, hissing as best he could through the flowers.

She shoved herself backwards in shock, tumbling into the cool air of the witches' storeroom.

Jasper emerged from the cabinet, fur noticeably more rumpled than before, the peach blossoms already wilting from Halloween's definition of life. He spat the batch by the cauldron and turned to his fur, sparing caustic glances to Ivy every change he got. The human payed no mind, back inside the cabinet, where a faint pounding could be heard.

"It's not that simple," the cat grouched. "Believe me, dear, you wouldn't be in this town if we could get you out."

"How come it worked for you?" She snapped, now slamming her feet against the stagnant wall.

"I'm a _Citizen,"_ Jasper growled, smoothing the fur on his back legs. "You are more definitely _not._ The Gateways won't open, no matter how much you abuse them," he added scornfully as Ivy brought the crowbar into the cabinet with her.

"And nobody thought to _mention_ there were 'Gateways' to me?" she snapped, her voice hoarse and muffled. "Make me a Citizen then, or something! I'll sign the stupid book-"

"What do you think would be the point?" the cat countered, considerably calmer. "Being a Citizen isn't as simple as you may think- it's a bit more intricate than simply _'signing the book'."_

"How so?" the pungent remark was soon accompanied by a face of frustration as Ivy pulled herself from the cabinet.

Jasper wrapped his tail around his front paws, trying to control his pique. "Well, you become bound to the town, and it takes a bit of your remaining life force. You have responsibilities to uphold in keeping Halloween relevant and frightening. You gain awareness to the _true_ nature of these worlds...and to revoke the town's protection dooms you to become a forgotten memory."

Ivy glanced back at the cabinet in desperation.

"You have to _earn_ Citizenship, girl," Jasper continued. "Souls approach Halloween because they are either condemned from Heaven or prove to be a strong force for fright in their life. I doubt your _human_ soul would fare well with the binding." He approached the girl and flexed his paw, displaying hard white and red lines coating the pad. "My mark of Citizenship," he said, with a touch of pride.

Ivy let her fingers trace over the raised lines, though her eyeing of the Gateway remained. "Where did that one go?"

"Oh, the destinations change all the time," Jasper dismissed with a flick of his tail. "Depends on where reality is most altered at the time. Today it was some greenhouse in the American Northwest, but once I got a room with a bunch of sleeping humans- unusual, generally there's no humans around- except for one girl still awake, watching the wall." He purred fondly. "She nearly startled me in her stillness; she'd be _excellent_ scaring material."

He shuffled the peach blossoms over to an empty cubbyhole, sweeping each petal in with the inky-black tail. "How much does the book say I got?"

Ivy pushed herself from the floor and leaned carefully over the book. "Uh...three."

"Damn," the cat huffed, "it didn't look like there was anymore. I'll have to go back later…" he stretched across the floor, gazing at Ivy through half-lidded eyes. "Clean up here and put that box back, and I won't alert the town that you've been snooping through the witches' possessions."

"I wasn't _snooping,"_ she protested hotly, even as she set the radio and beakers back into the box. "I was…"

"Oh, save it," Jasper yawned. "I could care less, as long as you keep away from my crunchy tuna bones."

"I won't lay a hand on them," the human promised.

"Mm. see that you don't." Jasper gave her one last stare before hopping onto the countertop, melting away into the shadows.

Ivy meticulously went over the room, replacing anything she might have displaced, refusing to look at the Gateway again, feeling the town _watching_ her now, just _waiting_ for her to try again. Her mind's eye was fixed on the Signature Book, tempting her to pick up the pen…

 _No. Not until you have more evidence. Keep an eye on the Gateways, though. Maybe_ _ **I**_ _don't need to be the one to go through them._

She retraced her steps through the dark, letting a pumpkin's screen muffled the sound of the door sliding shut on the witches' house.

 _Ich hei_ _ße Ivy Kunze. Ich bin fünfzehn Jahre alt, und ich bin in einem Albtraum stecken..._

* * *

 _Mamma hei_ _ßt Selina, Papa heißt Tom..._ " _Wir wohnen ins Stuttgart, Deutschland. Mein Bruder heißt Anton, und er ist fünf- sechs? Nein, seib-:_

- **Mom's name is Seliana, Dad's name is Tom...we live in Stuttgart, Germany...my brother is named Anton, and he's five-six? No, (seven).**

 _Wir wissen nicht was der Mann in der braunen Jacke wollte, aber wir hoffen, es ist nicht unheimlich…:_

 **-We don't know what the man in the tan jacket wanted, but we hope that it's nothing sinister...**

 _Ich hei_ _ße Ivy Kunze. Ich bin fünfzehn Jahre alt, und ich bin in einem Albtraum stecken...:_

 **-My name is Ivy Kunze, I'm fifteen years old, and I'm living in a nightmare.**

 **And if the character of Jasper seems familiar to anybody, you may have seen him over in _Skeleton Anne,_ Corona Pax's ever-evolving story with some of the best written characters I've come across. Everybody go check it out! **

**Hope you all have a good weekend! If you're traveling, tell me your Thanksgiving plans, and for all readers, the cliched question arises: "What are you thankful for?" (My cliche answer is, of course, that I'm thankful to have so much online support for a story I thought would never be written down. Thank you sincerely, to every one who's ever reviewed or read this book. It means more than I can say.)**

 **See you next Saturday,**

 **-Aria**


	22. Chapter 22

**Merry Christmas Eve, everybody! Hope everyone's been good this year. I've just (as in, around 20 minutes ago) returned home from visiting family in the States, so what better time to update than when I've been awake for approximately 38 hours?**

 **opalwolf12: I've been listening to a _lot_ of _Welcome to Night Vale,_ and I started wondering who might actually listen to this desert community outside of the town itself...so naturally it made its way into Halloween Town. I'm glad you noticed/liked the parallel- things being the same despite differences is something that Ivy has to deal with a lot in this fic. Thank you for reading!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Ivy's certainly been through a lot, so let's see if we can give her a break in this chapter (of sorts, anyway...) Thank you so much for your amazing reviews!**

 **SaraTheAngelic: I cannot thank you enough for this review. As any fanfic writer, I strive to stay true to the spirit of our original source material while getting to put my own spin on it, and I'm so glad that this spin is working for you! I can't believe you binged this all in two days- hopefully this chapter will live up to the others! As for your monster of choice, Ivy might not be as safe as you think...thank you for reviewing!**

* * *

 _November 15_

 _Midnight_

 _BONG!_

 _BONG!_

 _BONG!_

Finkelstein swore and dropped Sally's head in shock, embarrassingly thankful for his creation's unconscious state. He listened to the bell a moment longer before sighing, setting Sally's head beside her body and opening the window.

"A new arrival _now,_ of all times?" He yelled, shaking a comically small fist at the Requiem Bell, which continued its veritable _bongs!_

Grumbling, he hastily made sure Sally remained asleep (think of what the excitement would do to her neves!), new shoulder stuffing firm, then setting the rocket launchers on his prototype wheelchair to _low_ and speeding down the ramp, following the crowd passing his door.

The _bongs_ stopped at seven, leading to more than a few nervous murmurs from the crowd.

"That's _awfully_ young," someone remarked, as the town collectively halted before the Gates.

"Maybe a new trick-or-treater?" came a tentative suggestion. The Citizens collectively shuddered before a new question popped up.

"Edger, have you seen anything?"

The raven guard was ceremoniously opening the gates, beak pecking frantically. "The new grave materialized," he reported, "but I haven't seen any movement. Where's Jack?"

"He's here!" Called the pumpkin king, stepping carefully through the crowd as the Gate swung open. "Doctor, I'll have you come with me- the rest of you, please stay here! We all remember our Arrivals; let's not overwhelm our new monster."

The crowd grumbled unwillingly, but headed his request and allowed Finkelstein to smugly push his way to the front next to Jack. He turned his goggles on, a weak green light pulsing from within the lenses. "Shall we, my boy?"

Jack nodded and strode through the Gate, the oversized-moon lighting the way.

"The age does worry me," Jack admitted, once they'd left the crowds' earshot. "Do you know of any monsters who have expressed interest in adoption?"

"What do I look like, a charity worker?" Finkelstein scoffed. "I doubt it. The youngest in town besides that _mummy_ is Sally, of course. And she's enough to handle without adding _more_ little ones."

They approached the graveyard, Jack rearranging his fingers nervously. Finkelstein wisely fell silent, letting his goggles show their position. Privately, he'd noticed Jack getting more and more anxious with each Arrival. Jack was a Halloween Symbol; it didn't make sense for him to fear any that may arrive from the world above!

He couldn't _fully_ blame Jack, however- new arrivals varied, from danger, temporary fear, or crisis upon discovering their eternal haunting grounds, while others accepted their fate instantly. Finkelstein wondered if anyone remembered his own Arrival- how he'd been expected to go straight to work inventing as soon as the goggles formed around his neck. And then there was Jack's- appearing wearily through the mist, words of Old English falling off his tongue as he clutched a still-glowing turnip…

Shaking the memory off, he watched Jack silently step through the grave sites until he reached the newest one, which gave off a soft white glow. The centuries of practice showed in each step, leaving no noise or footprints.

Jack reached the grave and closed his eyes, letting the Wind and Halloween air swirl about his frame before extending a hand into the cold soil, feeling a gooey chill beneath his fingers. Crouching low, he sank the other arm elbow-deep, cupping the chill- which was beginning to jerk between his joints- and pulled the new Citizen free, smoothly as a rock from the river.

"Oh, _wonderful,_ " Finkelstein muttered as Jack sighed with barely concealed relief. "A _ghost,_ how useless."

"Doctor, please!" Jack admonished, holding the ghost carefully. "Don't offend the-"

 _"Arf!"_

The ghost solidified into two floppy ears, beady black eyes, and a bright orange nose, wiggling around in Jack's arms and barking.

"A _dog?_ That's even worse!" Finkelstein moaned. "That damn witches' cat already pilfers from my supplies, Halloween doesn't need this- this-"

"This _cutie!_ " Jack all but squealed, meeting the dog's eyes. "Hello! Welcome to Halloween Town! I'm Jack Skellington. Can you understand me?"

"This is disastrous," Finkelstein sulked, kicking the moss creeping up his wheelchair.

The dog barked twice and licked Jack with a corporal tongue, and were the Pumpkin King capable, he would have turned to goo on the spot.

"Are you capable of speech?" Finkelstein interrupted.

The dog cocked its head before shaking it venomously.

"Yes, Jack, I understand now," he snapped. "You just have a fascination with _useless beings."_

Jack ignored (or didn't notice) the jibe, choosing instead to rub the dog's stomach as he carried it over to Finkelstein, who reluctantly began his customary exam.

No heartbeat? Check.

Vision? check.

Aware of the terror the plagued the world?

He snarled at the dog, who barked in terror before giving a series of indignant yips in return.

"Good enough," he summarised, turning his goggles off. "Shall we go back?" he turned his chair around, hearing Jack coax the ghost to start floating with little success.

The crowd's excitement had clearly grown, calling out to the pair as soon as they approached.

"Is it a child?"

"What kind of monster?"

"What's their Trick?"

"I guess there's no point in assuming it's human."

Jack sighed at the nervous laughs that arose from Ivy's comment, and held the dog aloft. "Everyone, this here is-"

He was quickly cut off by the dog giving a cheery _yip!_ and rocketing out of Jack's grasp, ghostly body learning how to move through air as it pummeled into Ivy.

 _"Ahh!_ What's going on? There's something _cold_ on me!"

Ivy had her hands thrust in the air defensively, eyes darting around. The dog whined and circled her head, trying to get into her line of vision.

"Give it a moment, terror," a monster said, patting her shoulder forcefully. "Humans aren't the best at detecting ghosts," she stage-whispered to her friend.

Jack found the practice curious, watching Ivy struggle to see the overly eager dog until it licked her forcefully across the face. She sputtered and opened her eyes once more, locking onto the ghost dog, who managed the look of utter smugness.

"Oh, _there_ you are," she said, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. She stretched her hand out hesitantly, fumbling a moment before managing to scratch the dog behind the ears. The Arrival whined with joy before wiggling away, performing a series of odd tricks for the rapt crowd.

"Not that this isn't _fascinating,"_ Finkelstein muttered to Jack, "but the Church Grims didn't do this on _their_ Arrivals."

"I'm sure there's a point-"

Ivy narrowed her eyes and stepped before the dog, snapping her fingers. " _Spielst tot!"_

The dog obeyed instantly, sprawling on the ground in a gruesome position, going perfectly still. Ivy's eyes widened once more, her shocked countenance back in full force.

 _"Null?"_ she asked, crouching down and holding her hand out once more.

The dog yipped and wriggled into Ivy's arms, lapping at her face excitedly.

"Oh, don't tell me you _know_ the Arrival," Finkelstein complained.

"Zero," she corrected. "He's my neighbors' dog...or, I think he was." She stood, allowing other monsters to coo at the dog- if Halloween 'cooing' involved growling.

"Wait, why are you here, buddy? You...you aren't dead, are you?'

"No, I'm sure he's perfectly alive," Finkelstein snarked, waving a hand through Zero's body. The dog growled at the Doctor, burrowing into Ivy when the scientist growled back.

"Oh, you're a lucky one," the Mayor observed, staying a safe distance from Zero. "Being _scared_ to death!"

"Welcome!" Jack greeted again, finally working closer to the new Arrival. He gave a deep bow before Ivy, who was still clutching Zero. "I am Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween! And this-"

"-is Halloween!" the town shouted. And suddenly it seemed to Ivy that the sound came from everywhere-

"This is Halloween!"

"Halloween!"

"Halloween!"

Jack waved the cheers down, extending his own hand to the ghost, who finally rose from Ivy's grip. He straightened up, his sheet body fluttering in anticipation.

"Our friend Ivy called you Zero. Is that the name you'd like to keep?"

 _"Arf!"_

"Ah...bark twice for yes, once for no."

 _"Arf- arf!"_

Jack nodded and gestured towards the manor. "If you'd like to come with me, we can...err, discuss...Citizenship."

" _Arf- arf!" He gave Ivy one last lick before bounding through the air towards Jack. She started to follow, only for the King to hold his hand out apologetically._

"This is Zero's decision,' he said, gently but firmly. "If he chooses to stay, you'll see him then."

Ivy fell back, frowning as the two slowly made their way into the house, where she knew the signature book lay.

" _Being a Citizen isn't as simple as you may think- it's a bit more intricate than simply 'signing the book,"_ Jasper snarked in her mind.

The light in Jack's library flickered on, but Ivy's eyes darted to the side of the house.

"There's a way to see in the window," came a voice next to her. She glanced down to see Lock inspecting his fingernails casually.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a brick pattern that we boost each other up," he continued, still not looking at her. "You could come with us to see. If you want."

Without waiting for a response, he casually walked to the side of the house, where Shock's pointed hat already lay in wait.

Ivy scanned the crowd, but they seemed to be lost in gossip amongst themselves. Even the Doctor was relating his theories on ghost physics to an unfortunate group of Citizens. Taking a breath, she darted over to join the trick-or-treaters.

Lock was balanced precariously on Shock's shoulders, with Barrel scrambling up the bricks in a spider-like fashion.

"C'mon, I'll bet they've already started!" Lock urged, letting Barrel crawl carefully onto his shoulders.

"Can we pet the doggie afterwards?" He asked, peering down eagerly.

"Of course, we will!" Shock shrieked. "But we've gotta see this first! Hey, human," she called. "Let's go, huh? Barrel's too short to see in the window."

"That's wha' happens when you don't drink poisoned milk," Barrel confided to Ivy. "You gotta be _short."_

"You guys are _not_ holding me," Ivy interrupted. "I wouldn't trust your spindly arms with a box of feathers!"

"If you ditch us," Shock threatened, "we'll get caught on _purpose_ and tell Jack it was your idea."

Ivy stopped dead. "You couldn't tell a story like that."

"Oh, trust me, I've had a _lot_ of practice," Shock said, sickly sweet.

Fuming, Ivy marched over and stepped up the bricks, feeling the grit build up on her palms as her muscles stretched, pulling her closer to the window. She glanced down and instantly regretted it, the moonlight clearly illuminating her fall into a large group of nasty-looking plants. She hesitantly put one foot on Barrel's shoulder, and, not feeling any weakness, she gingerly set the other one down, gripping the windowsill as the trio slowly rose her higher.

"What do you see?" Shock called up, no hint of strain in her voice.

Ivy peered through the dirt stains into Jack's library, where the Signature Book was laying open on the table, the pen giving off an odd glow.

"They're just talking right now. Or...Jack's talking. Null's just kinda floating there. Uh...Jack's pulling this black globe thing from the self-"

"AHH!" Barrel yelled, letting go of Ivy's ankles briefly. The whole group swayed, and Ivy fumbled for the windowsill.

"Barrel, you idiot! It's not going to get _us!"_ Shock yelled, forcing them all to steady.

"What is that thing?" Ivy whispered, wondering how Jack hadn't heard them.

"I don't think it has a name," Lock admitted. "We just call it the 'Super Weird and Scary Ball of Death."

"Sounds great," Ivy said uncertainty, watching as Zero's eyes went huge the longer they considered the ball. He squirmed around, his discomfort evident, but Jack only pushed the sphere closer. Ivy craned her neck around, trying to see what was causing the dog so much distress.

"He just fell down! What does that mean?"

"Is he getting back up?" Lock asked harshly. When she didn't respond, he added, "Barrel, scrape her ankles."

" _Ow!_ I can't _see,_ you little...oh, wait! He's getting back up!"

Zero was floating before Jack once more, his coat even whiter than before, and he nodded slowly.

"Jack's unscrewing the Signature's Pen," she reported. "He's…. pouring a little puddle of it by the book. Uh…"

"Well, it's not like he's got _hands_ to sign with," Lock snarked. "Keep going!'

Biting her cheek, Ivy turned her head back to the scene. "Zero's... dipping his nose into the ink. He's hesitating, looking around at- _SCHEIßE."_

She ducked down below the sill before Zero could see her, holding her breath as the trio below her started hissing.

"What's going on?"

"Did they see you?"

"Human face too close."

She pulled herself up once more, tentatively peeking over the edge before sighing in relief. " _Phew._ Ok, we're good for now." She rubbed away the fog left by her breath and continued. "His nose is covered in ink...he just signed the book! Now he's... wait, hold on! What's that? What's happening to his nose?"

"What's it look like?" Shock called up.

"He's in pain!" She said, horrified. "He's clawing at his nose...the ink is drying up...there's…. there's a _pumpkin_ mark on his nose!"

"The Mark of Citizenship!" crowed Shock. "Looks like we've got a dog, boys!"

And with that, the trick or treaters let go of each other's ankles and dropped to the ground.

Ivy gasped as she plummeted down, managing to grab onto the sill at the last moment. Her nail broke below the bed and she hissed in pain, trying to secure her grasp.

" _Was zur Hölle? Verpiss dich! Du Sohn einer Hündin…"_

"We'll see you later!" Lock called over the girl's tirade, as his cohorts laughed maniacally.

"She's floppin' like a fish!" Barrel added. "Can we show everybody?"

"No, you idiot!" Shock yelled, whacking Barrel across the head. "Then _we'll_ get in trouble!"

 _"Ich werde dich töten!"_ Ivy yelled, both her arms above the ledge. _"Nochmal!"_

"Let's get out of here and go see the dog," Lock suggested.

"I wanna pet it first!" Barrel shouted, darting towards the crowd.

"No, _me!"_

The argument faded from Ivy's hearing, but her focus had left the trio long ago. She braced her elbows against the sides of the window, fuming. The candle light slowly faded from Jack's library, and she briefly weighed the risk of knocking on the sill. A gust of Wind immediately blew the idea from her mind.

 _"Having fun?"_

"Are you _laughing_ at me?" She ground out, her feet scrambling for a foot hold. "I'm about to die! This is _not_ how I want to go out!"

 _"Nor will it be,"_ the Wind assured. " _I have taken the liberty of informing someone of your predicament."_

"You what?" She cried, panic slipping into her tone as her grip loosened. "Oh my God, oh my god, SCHEIßE-"

 _"Just drop, Miss Ivy, you'll be fine."_

"No, I won't, I'm c-can't hold o _-AHHHH!"_

The Wind sent a gust through the small interstice, loosening Ivy's sweaty palms from their wobbly grip. Memories of her first fall into Halloween shot up from the depths of her mind, sending her into a panic. She fell through the air, kicking frantically-

-only to be caught by something oddly soft.

"I should have assumed the Wind blew me off course for such a reason as this," the Creature said in his slow, careful voice. He gently lowered Ivy to her feet, where she instinctively checked her pulse and muttered frantically under her breath.

"I _hate_ kids," she declared after a moment, straightening up and taking a deep breath.

"The Treaters can be difficult to handle," the Creature said neutrally. "I've found that a good scare in return usually calms them down."

Ivy snorted in disbelief, but nodded her thanks. "Where were you going?" she asked.

"I was on my way to the _Wicked Pub & Grubs,_" he said. "As I'm sure you've noticed, there's a super moon out tonight, and the Pub has a particularly impressive view."

"Does it have a particularly impressive selection of drinks?"

The Creature eyed her critically. "For those interested in that nonsense, I suppose so."

"I'm sold. Mind if I tag along?"

The Creature sighed and rolled his eyes. "You fell from a window and _this_ is your priority?"

"Hey, I've had a near-death experience _one too many times_ lately. I think I've earned it."

"You say that now," the Creature muttered. "Come along then, if you must."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ivy had to admit, the moon put on a fantastic show.

The Shadow was nowhere to be seen, leaving only the yellow-white orb to hang close and low to the ground. Further into town, the kids jumped up to try and touch it.

 _Wicked Pub & Grubs_ was tucked at the top of one of Halloween's rolling hills, with a collection of older monsters eagerly picking up glowing drinks. She briefly wondered if they had ID checks and bit her cheek to keep from laughing.

The Creature left her at the entrance, eyeing the bright lights distastefully. She steeled herself and marched in, both grateful and confused when no monster batted an eye.

She pulled herself up a stool (shaped like a claw) and made eye contact with the bartender, a flame-headed creature who eyed her curiously.

"So, what's the selection here?"

 _ **WE HAVE MANY OPTIONS.**_

Ivy blinked in shock at the loud voice echoing around her skull, though apparently no other monster had noticed. "Um...I don't suppose you've got a Radler?"

 _ **NO.**_

"Pils?"

 _ **NEGATIVE.**_

"Sparkling water?"

The bartender pointed to a tap, where a stream of water occasionally lit up with bright yellow _bangs!_

She huffed in frustration, pinching her hat between her fingers, when a voice chimed in, "here, kid, just take the house brew. It'll get you in the Halloween spirit in no time."

She turned to see a withered monster wearing a tarnished tuxedo, with the- mouth? Nose? - pointed forlornly over the counter.

The flaming bartender must have said something, as the monster laughed dryly and sat itself on the stool next to Ivy. "No, the rest of the boys are outside, playing our tune of sorrow for the night to come…"

Ivy got the distinct feeling of eye-rolling from the bartender as he slid two drinks in their direction.

 _ **DO NOT LET HIM SING,**_ the bartender instructed Ivy. _**HE WILL HAVE THE PLACE EMPTY WITHIN SECONDS.**_

She nodded, more to shake the voice from her head than in affirmation, and watched the monster guzzle the drink. She wrapped her fingers around the jug- a brown, oddly flecked thing, with only bolts and nails holding it in place- and examined the drink inside.

It seemed impossible to determine a color, as the drink swirled around from black to orange to a pale gold. Mysterious bubbles burst from the top and released a shower of blue sparks into the air.

"Whaddya gonna do, start a conversation with it?" The monster asked, wiping his mouth on his already-stained tuxedo sleeve. He hiccupped and added, "make it through that and I'll order two Cat's Eyes, on me."

Ivy shrugged. _"Prost!"_ She toasted before throwing the drink back.

Having a strong distaste to wine, Ivy was pleased that the drink had no odd tartness, though she coughed silently as the thick drink slid down her throat. Her eyes burned as she (hazardously) set the drink back down on the counter.

"'Atta girl!" The monster cheered loudly. "How's that for ya?"

Ivy watched goosebumps rise after a shudder shook her frame. She felt the little sparks explode inside and the back of her skull seemed to lift.

"'S not bad," she managed. "Gonna have to do better to beat a good Hefeweizen, though."

"Oh really?" The monster crowed, leaning in. Ivy steeled her nerves and took another long gulp, suddenly hyper-aware of her heartbeat. Had it always felt like that? The strange contraction and _ache_ as it beat? It really ought to be _quiet…_

"You're gonna blow my cover," she mumbled to her chest. Her drinking mate laughed, waved the bartender over, and yelled, "a Cat's Eye for my friend…"

"Ivy."

"-Ivy here!" He tried to slap her shoulder, but ended up knocking her hat off instead. She glanced down to retrieve it, but the distance to the ground was _awfully_ far, and it was _really_ much better to stay still anyway…

The bartender scanned her. _**I RECOMMEND YOU HAVE PHYSICAL SUSTENANCE FIRST,**_ he advised. _ **CAT'S EYES DO NOT BODE WELL ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.**_

He brought over a tray of seemingly-innocent sandwiches, which the monster snatched up instantly. "Ah, you're a gem. May a fire extinguisher never cross your path!"

Ivy got the eye-rolling impression once more before a lone sandwich was passed over.

She picked it up, eyes narrowing at the lack of mold. "What is it?" She asked.

 _ **MAGGOT SANDWITCH,**_ the bartender said. **_IT DOES WONDERS._**

Something about the sentence sent off alarm bells in the girl's mind, but the brew did an excellent job of suppressing it. She bit in, swallowing the food down. Sure, there was some odd wiggling and the aftertaste of chicken, but it was probably just the brew playing tricks with her head.

It beat stale candy, at any rate.

"So, what's the Cat's Eye, huh?" She asked, polishing off the sandwitch. The flaming bartender brought over two tiny pumpkin-shaped shot glasses, filled with a dark black liquid.

"That's it?" She asked, unimpressed. She tried to clamor higher on the chair but slipped, knocking against the other monster, who was chewing on something oddly-worm like.

The bartender held up a finger and retrieved a box, pulling out various jars at the rest of the pub took notice of the action.

"Oh, don't waste the good stuff on those two!"

"Come on now, let's see if the human soul can take it!"

"Yeah! 10 Euro says they can't!" Ivy found herself cheering along until the monster tapped her shoulder.

 _"You're_ the human, kid," he reminded with a hiccup.

"Oh, _right,_ " she agreed, no less eager, watching as the bartender adjusted his tie and stirred in several spices, causing flashes of light and smoke. Finally, he held up a single eyed dropper filled with a gold liquid, and the pub fell silent.

Taking a dramatic pause, the bartender released two drops into each drink, causing a kaleidoscope of colors to swirl, the liquid almost glowing, before folding into itself and revealing one golden cat eye.

The monster picked up his glass and gestured for Ivy to do the same. "To the fear at the heart of us all!" He yelled.

" _Prost, und lasst euch nicht lumpen, hoch mit dem Humpen! Genieße das Leben ständig! Du bist länger tot als lebendig!"_ She retaliated, getting a round of laughter from the pub. They clinked glasses, and Ivy made sure to keep eye contact. _The last thing I need,_ she reasoned, _is a curse on top of everything._

They downed their respective drinks, hearing the claps and cheers of the pub around them. Ivy let her Fest experience control her technique, closing her eyes as the burning liquid made its way down her throat. She flipped the glass over, kissed the bottom, and slammed it down on the counter.

The other monster was still drinking, giving Ivy a hint of pride. Then she noticed another monster holding an antique watch.

 _"3!"_

The other monster slammed down their own glass.

 _"2!"_

Ivy looked around frantically, adrenaline sharpening her focus briefly.

" _1!"_

It was as though an explosion went off.

Ivy gripped the country, gasping, as lights exploded across her vision. Swirls of colors and scents circled her, and the other monster was now glowing a neon-orange, crimson ichor flowing from his eyes. Every sense seemed to be on fire- she became distinctly aware of each monsters' voice, of the gentle howling of the wind outside, of the smooth, polished wood she gripped in her fingers. The scents of Halloween overwhelmed her, but for once she didn't shy away from the rank smell. She glanced around at the room at large, seeing each Citizen radiate an unearthly, shifting glow. The world down here was so _vibrant_! And _alive!_

"That's a much better look for ya!" Came a hearty shout, as an arm snaked around her shoulders. "See for yourself!"

A plate hovered before her vision, and somebody spat upon it, hastily scrubbing with a ratty sleeve until her reflection peered through the grim.

"I'm glowing!" She said, ecstatic. "That looks so cool!"

She blinked rapidly, admiring the gleaming red and brown smoke that trailed from her eyes and dissipated into the air. As she turned to admire her blue highlights, now giving off an orange and red bioluminescent glow, she swore she spotted another form shifting beneath her own.

"Oh, good, the Latin's kicking in," her monster companion commented, clapping his hands wildly, causing multiple green sparks to fly at the contact.

"Latin? I don't speak Latin!" She retaliated, in perfect Latin. She clapped her hands over her mouth and felt her mind and tongue buzz as renewed laughter rose up.

"None of us do," the monster replied, new eyes and holes multiplying. The world spun briefly, as her stool was rotated to face the crowd at large. The door opened, and a gust of late-night air swept in, bringing in the sounds of a distinct, creaky clock chiming one in the morning.

Two larger monsters stood in the doorway, each holding a gleaming grey instrument. Each gave off an air of drudgery, sighing as they spotted their bandmate. "C'mon, now, it's time to play."

The flames- almost _blinding_ to Ivy's new sight- of the bartender's head grew, and he seemed to be giving the band a lecture as each rolled their eyes and groaned in unison, "yeah, only the songs agreed to, we get it."

The bartender nodded and pushed the third member off his stool, shoving a saxophone in his hands. He stumbled over to his cohorts, where they tapped on the cello three times, prompting the skull cemented deep inside let out a mournful moan.

"We're Straight Out of the Coffin, and tonight we'll be playing our jazz hit, _'Let's Get This Party Startled_.'" The skull snapped its jaw shut and counted, "one, two, one two three four-"

The Cat's Eye effect spread also to music, as ribbons of light and metallic notes bounced off the walls, weaving in between monsters who formed a ring and began an distinct dance, bending and turning with each brassy note.

"Let's not just sit here!" another monster said, their own voice slightly slurred. "Try it out!"

"Alright!" Came the answer, influenced by the drink. She linked arms with the monster as she jumped (fell) off her chair, joining the mad frenzy.

 _"I may be here to pick up boos,_

 _But with you around I'll never lose!_

 _Come on in, we'll show you a fright,_

 _Let's get this party startled_

 _Tonight!"_

Ivy laughed with glee as her dancing companion spun her out into the circle, dipping her low before changing partners. Her heart pounded inside her chest with excitement rather than dread, and as she slowly picked up the footwork of the jig, the lines between monster and human blurred until any apprehension was cleared. She ducked a bright green quarter note to bow before yet another new partner, who's mirthful laugh matched her own. The vibrations of the music made her skull throb and the floor shake, and as she jumped and kicked, the whole world open to her, every molecule shaking with energy, she felt as though everything had fallen into place.

 _"I've got a Cat's Eye for you,_

 _Wanna see your pretty hues,_

 _So, come on in,_

 _Don't you put up a fight,_

 _Let's get this party startled-_

 _Tonight!"_

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

 _November 16_

 _3:30 am_

The Creature stood before the now-silent bar, as the last of the conscious patrons made their way down the road. He pushed the creaky door open, allowing the super moon's light to highlight the drink-stained floor. He gently nudged two slumbering monsters aside, making his way to a table lit by a single candle.

" _Really_ , Vlad," he sighed. "Is this drama necessary?"

"It is better to be kept in the dark than be pre-exposed to the light," came the smooth reply, without a hint of the Transylvanian accent humans seemed fixated on.

The Creature remained unimpressed. "No faux philosophy, please. Where's Nicholas?"

"Right here!" Came a low rumble from the back room. The werewolf emerged, shaking his arms out. "Thought I'd tidy this place some before morning comes around." He joined the other two monsters, adding more candles (much to Vlad's displeasure). "We broke out the Cat's Eyes early," he grinned, sharp teeth gleaming in the soft light. "And lo and behold, the pub is empty!"

"With a few exceptions," the vampire snarked, gesturing with a snowy white hand to the few scattered bodies. "Not to mention _that."_

The long nail pointed towards the pub's counter, where the human was slumped over the counter, face planted into the wood, unmoving.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," the Creature dismissed. "She's hardly armed with stakes, Vlad."

"Hmpf."

The Creature seated himself carefully, trying to make his overladen body appear casual in the minuscule chair. "Would it be optimistic to assume we can begin on schedule?"

"Devil knows if is Mr. Marvel is here," Vlad said, shifting himself to a chair as well. "Marvel, if your miserable self is here, we really _must_ get going."

"Well, since you asked so nicely," came a fourth voice, nearing the table. Vlad flinched.

"Do _not_ come near me if you are going to insist on remaining in such a... _bare_ state."

Two hands materialized briefly, flipped the vampire off, and promptly vanished.

"Gentleman, please," the Creature said wearily. "Thomas, did you manage to find out where Jack's been sneaking off to?"

"Just wanders around the forest," the disembodied voice reported, boredom evident. "Same trails as always, and a little further each day. Whatever he's doing, he's thinking _hard-_ I stepped on a branch and he didn't even _flinch."_

Vlad stroked his moustache. "The evil beings are getting bolder by the day," he said softly. "Perhaps he is finding a way to forestall them?"

"I doubt it," Nicholas growled, pacing. "Jack's always been spacey, but this cheerful demeanor is beginning to worry me. We won't know it's too late until he shows obsession, or mania!"

"Jack is a good leader," the Creature cut in gently. "He would not partake in any action that would endanger the Town."

"You are blinded by your admiration!" Vlad hissed. "There is a _danger_ here, and this pathetic haven will not be able to withstand the fallout! Remember how he appeared to us…" He sighed and rubbed his face. "The Mark of the Devil shone on him- we each would know."

"Not me," Marvel interrupted. "I've done nothing to piss of the big guy."

"Yeah, that's why you've been cursed to spend _eternity_ in the form you _failed_ to achieve in life," Nicholas shot back. "You're _clearly_ the Saint here."

"What of the New Arrival?" The Creature cut in before the old argument could erupt. "Finkelstein let slip that he's keeping close tabs on who died when. How does this New Monster fit in?"

"It's a _dog,_ of all things," Vlad snarked. "I doubt that's what's been causing his paranoia. Now, were I more interested in ruling this town, we'd take actions to protect our borders! We'd show some _fortitude!"_

"Pretty bold words," Marvel snarked, "for somebody who ran away to his castle because 6 tiny little humans threw sticks at him."

Vlad sulked but offered no retaliation.

"That does bring up another point," Nicholas mused. "What the hell is this business with her?" He gestured wildly towards the human. "Doesn't Jack realize that she _couldn't_ have gotten through the portal? It's the same as the Gateways, only _Citizens_ can enter!"

"Be still!" The Creature warned. "The grasp of sleep may be shaken off by your voice any time!"

"I can't account for the others," Vlad offered, "but her heartbeat hasn't changed since I arrived."

"Ah, yes, you're an expert in the sleeping heart rate of humans, aren't ya, Vlad? All that time with a certain- "

"Marvel, so help me- "

"Maybe Vlad had a point then, surprisingly," the invisible man continued, as though there'd been no interruption. "Insecure borders allowing more threats to get into the Darker Realms?"

"The Veil between worlds has never been secure," the Creature dismissed. "Rosalyn overrode them to bring her human back, and we break the laws of space to slip into their world-"

"But what of the first one?" Vlad countered. "And what of Jack? His deal with the Devil isn't the end of the tale, despite what he tells the children."

"You're just jealous because _your_ deal fell through," Marvel muttered under his breath.

"If I could locate your neck," Vlad said casually, "make no mistake that I would strangle you."

"What about Oogie?" Nicholas asked. "Has he done anything suspicious?"

"He might make a nice scapegoat should anything go wrong in our investigation," the Creature mused.

"He's taken to hanging around the river, near the treaters' treehouse," Marvel said, tone implying a shrug. "He's still upset about losing the Crown and being blamed for the humans prior."

"He wasn't _guiltless,_ " Vlad scoffed. "As for the Crown, why he'd want it is beyond me. The petty politics of this town are as useful as its Mayor."

"But would he have cause to go to break the border between worlds?" Nicholas asked, running his teeth over a claw nervously.

The Creature and Vlad locked eyes, centuries of experience and wariness passing unseen to the younger monsters.

"He can't be ruled out," Vlad said carefully.

"But the human world is of little interest to him," the Creature followed, letting his eyes scan the werewolf and the faintest glimmer of bent light where he guessed Marvel stood. "We must remain vigilant."

Nicholas nodded, and Marvel gave a grunt, a drink pulling itself towards the invisible man.

"So, what's the plan for next time, then?" Marvel asked, feigning weariness. "You want me to daringly swoop into Oogie's lair and chat evil? 'Hey, Boogie Boy, ever thought about how _easy_ it would be to gain domination of worlds?'"

"Quite the opposite," the Creature answered smoothly. "Slip through a Gateway and see how much fuss has been caused by this girl's disappearance. We need to know what we stand against."

"Oh, this'll be _fun_ ," Marvel gloated, a soft sound suggesting he was rubbing his hands together. "Will I follow them just inches behind? Move things around? Play pop music at early hours of the morning? The possibilities are _endless!"_

The Creature sighed. "Nicholas, persuade Edgar into a patrol of the Outer Lands. See if you can determine what's changed recently."

Nicholas nodded, grizzled face solemn. "If something is wrong, we'll know."

The Creature arranged his face into his best impression of a smile. "I'll do more research into the border between the worlds. If we know what keeps us apart, it may hint to what desires to bring us together."

Vlad tucked his fingers under his chin, dark eyes gazing at something unseen. "I shall aid you," He murmured softly. "My library has only grown in centuries past; there may be something that will assist us."

The four monsters sat a moment more, pressures and responsibilities keeping even Marvel quiet. Finally, Nicholas broke, scuffling about as though to make up for the momentary stillness. "Well. Until the next full moon, then?"

"That would be wise," Vlad commented, though he made no mood to get up. The Creature stood on uneven footing before catching Vlad's eye, seeing the vampire subtly shake his head no.

"Well, I'm out, then," Marvel's voice said, drifting from the table. " _Oooo,_ check it out!"

Ivy's hat was now nestled onto the invisible skull, and the man beneath made a self-satisfied sound. " _Yess,_ I think this is my color, boys."

"I'd hate to see what looks bad on you," Vlad commented dryly.

"Oh, you want me to show it in all my glory? I really think this brings out my skin…give me a moment- "

"NO!" Each monster yelled, hushed tones forgotten as they each clasped their hands over their eyes, experience with Marvel's bare antics prevailing over secrecy.

"Sheesh, guys, what's the big deal?" Marvel asked, thankfully still unseen. "I get the virgins over there, but _Vlad-_ we all know your experience with- "

"Nicholas, if you kill him, I'll provide for your next three hunts," Vlad offered, the tips of his pale ears burning.

Nicholas didn't bother with a response, instead choosing to lunge at the empty space. Marvel's feet pounded for the door, still wearing the hat, and the two younger monsters vanished into the night.

The Creature allowed himself a moment of amusement before turning back to Dracula. "I presume there is something more you'd like to say?"

Vlad dragged his eyes from the wall, entire body eerily still. "The other two are biased towards their human origins," he began, "but you and I know better, my friend."

"Nobody in this town is on friendly terms with the race above," the Creature answered cautiously, sitting once more. "Kindly get to the point."

Vlad raised one eyebrow and glanced at the girl slumped over the counter.

 _"No,"_ the Creature reprimanded sharply. "She is not the cause of the troubles plaguing the Town. It began long before her arrival."

"I never implied she was the _cause,_ " Vlad countered, "but she may very well be the bellwether of some darker plan. Those aware of our existence…" here the vampire stared deep into the Creature's own sunken eyes. "They will not _rest_ until we are destroyed."

The Creature rugged at his skin, pondering the Vampire's accusations. As much as his conscience protested, it couldn't drown out the dark seed of resentment humanity had planted.

"I will prepare for the possibility," he conceded slowly. "Make no mistake; I'll not be hunted again. Whatever threat plagues us, I will take the steps to see it _destroyed."_

"No matter what?" Vlad challenged.

For once, eye contact came easily to the Creature. "No matter what," he echoed levelly.

The two monsters sized the other up before Vlad sighed and stood, running a hand through his thinning hair. "I should see what my charges are getting into," he said cordially. "Their absence from a good party is troublesome." He glided over to the door, focus switching back to the girl. Her human heartbeat, steady and calm, thumped behind his ears, dragging up memories of the Merry Band who'd foiled his plans. Perhaps it was simply _human nature_ , he thought disgustedly. If he looked closely (which he'd adamantly deny) he could almost _see_ the determined jaw of Mina, that damned Texan's cocky shoulder stance, Jonathan's soft smile-

He dug long nails into his palms and banished the ghosts from his mind, opening the pub door into the cool air. "Goodnight, my friend," he managed, wondering if the Creature was drowning in his own human memories. "Until the night screams once more. _Timore coniungit nos."_

 _"Timore coniungit nos,_ " the Creature replied softly, waiting until the Vlad's bat form was only a dark dot in the moon's glow before letting himself out the back, heading toward his bookshop.

By all appearances, the bar was now silent and still, not a form stirring from the council held. Ivy was still draped across the counter, drink smoking, arm pressed against her forehead, and eyes wide open.

She released her control over her heart rate, feeling it spike as she turned the events of the conversation over in her mind. She fought to stay still as she heard the heavy footsteps of the Creature fade down the road. Her scalp felt cooler from the theft of her hat, and she repressed a shudder at the memory of long, invisible fingers raking though her hair.

Getting a handle on her fear much quicker than she would have weeks before, Ivy mentally arranged what she'd learned.

J _ack been acting weird and apparently did some nonsense with the Devil (no, no, don't think about that right now,)_

 _Something's threatening Halloween, Oogie or otherwise_

 _Oh god they know I didn't come through the portal, I'm so screwed-_

 _The Creature might turn on me (oh come on, were you even friends to begin with?)_

It was a troublesome stance, she realized, feeling the ache of an imprint from her arm on her forehead. The disinterest to human life was both refreshing and chilling.

 _Oh, well,_ she decided, watching the grains of wood swirl before her eyes as the Cat's Eye continued to alter her perception _. We'll deal with that one at a time. As soon as the room stops glowing, I'll figure out what happened to Jack…_

* * *

 **Another chapter of references, terrible puns (sand** _witch_ **was** _entirely_ **intentional), and cultural mayhem!**

 _ **Null-**_ **Zero.**

 ** _Spielst tot!-_ play dead. **

**Was zur Hölle? Verpiss dich! Du Sohn einer Hündin…"** \- ' **What the hell' and a few other extras.**

 **Ich werde dich töten! Nochmal!"** **I'm going to kill you! Again! (referencing the second grave)**

Radler- **while literally translated as 'bicycle', it's a drink that's half lemonade, half alcohol. The idea is that you're still sober enough to ride your bicycle!**

Pils/Hefeweizen- **two German beers.**

 **IMPORTANT: While Ivy references drinking in this chapter, her age of 15 in Germany allows her to drink with adult supervision. In the Human World, she can't buy alcohol/drink alone until she's 16, and some alcohol is off limits until one reaches 18. Please follow the drinking laws of your country RESPONSIBLY. (Pass on glowing monster drinks would be key here, too.)**

Prost!- **a German toast that is said pretty much everytime alcohol is served. It's a need-to-know classic, basically translating to 'cheers!' (Feel free to use it for non-alcoholic beverages as well.)**

Prost, und lasst euch nicht lumpen, hoch mit dem Humpen! Genieße das Leben ständig! Du bist länger tot als lebendig!- **combing some of my personal favorites toasts here. 'lasst euch nich lumpen, hoch mit dem Humpen' is 'don't be a slouch, raise your glass!' generally used for bigger, more rambunctious crowds.**

 **'** Genieße das Leben ständig! Du bist länger tot als lebendig! **' means, 'always enjoy life- you are dead longer than you are alive! Morbid, but considered polite.**

'She flipped the glass over, kissed the bottom, and slammed it down on the counter.' - **not strictly German, but kissing the bottom of the glass proves that you drank every last drop.**

'They clinked glasses, and Ivy made sure to keep eye contact. The last thing I need, she reasoned, is a curse on top of everything.'- **If you break eye contact during glass** **clinking** **, you have bad sex for seven years.**

 **Now, if you're unsure of all the monsters at the little gathering at the end, here they are:**

 **The Creature- _Frankenstein_ 's Monster**

 **Vlad- _Dracula._ **

**Nicholas- _An American Werewolf in London._ **

**Thomas Marvel- assistant thief to Griffin ( _The Invisible Man)_**

 **I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas Eve! Don't forget to review!**

 **-Aria**


	23. Chapter 23

**Welcome back, everyone! Hope the new year is treating you well. We're in the middle of the second act of** ** _Tricked Out_** **right now, and I'm so excited where the story will be in the upcoming months!**

 **GoldGuardian2418: Zero's one of my favorite characters; I couldn't wait to include him! And Zero fans will probably enjoy this chapter as well..**

 **Tmnf4ever: Thank you so much for noticing the growth of this story! This has been one large writing experiment for me- each chapter I try to add more detail, or different styles, or anything else that might be fun to read. I certainly like to think the writing has improved from it's origins three years ago- and I hope it gets even better for all of you! (And the last chapter was certainly one of my favorites to write so far!)**

 **EG: Believe it or not,** ** _Phantom of the Opera_** **is one of my favorite books, and the first of the 'classic horror' novels I read, and it is an absolute crime Erik hasn't been in the story yet. Which is your favorite adaptation of the story?**

* * *

CHAPTER 23

 _November 16_

 _Patch Barracks  
Stuttgart, Germany _

_4:52 pm_

"I'm telling you, ma'am, there was no danger. The area was off limits and well-guarded-"

"But we've been told _nothing!_ The town has been locked down for almost a week, and _you've_ been _completely_ unavailable-"

Anton turned his toy cat over in his fingers, trying to focus on the soft black fur rather than the arguing voices. The lone visitor's chair was hard against his small back, and the sickly green color of the plastic was making him feel dizzy. The radiator creaked irritably, and the bright American flags fluttered from puffs of air.

"My daughter has been missing for over two weeks and you choose to set off a _bomb?"_ His mother's rough hands gripped the edges of the desk.

"Lt Co Walters, please tell your wife to get herself under control." The MP leaned back in the barely functional desk chair, oblivious to the anger in Selena Kunze's eyes.

"Love, please," Anton's father whispered, fiddling with his uniform. Anton clutched his new notebook, letting his finger rub through the spirals and fixing his eyes on the numerous boot marks on the floor.

"The bomb was active and in a prime position," the MP said, tone bordering on utter apathy. "There was an immediate threat-"

"It's been 'active', as you say, since _World War II_ , in _your_ training yard," she countered, stony face a sharp contrast to her husband's nervous grin. "If it hasn't gone off before now, surely it can wait until you figure out how to deactivate it! If you can't tell-"

"Selena," Nathan Walters said softly, physically tugging his wife back. She finally fell silent, giving the MP one last withering stare before walking over to Anton and stroking his hair softly. He pulled a crayon from his pocket and, ignoring his mother's sigh, scribbled a note.

 _Is Null ok?_

He shoved the page in her face and turned away before his mother could say something bright and false to distract him. She'd never been like that _before,_ he determined, rubbing his cat with his free hand. Usually it was his papa, with his bright smile and soft eyes, who'd won him over so many times with words of comfort, despite the police officers, or ambulances, or a dog's pained breaths-

"I don't think he made it," his mother responded softly. "He was a very old dog, and the blast was a very big shock for him, being so close. I'm sure Frau Neumann will tell us if he pulls through, but don't get your hopes too high."

Anton nodded mutely, eyes darting to where his father was arguing with the portly man again.

"The _polizei_ are being highly uncooperative," the MP snipped, pulling Ivy's file up lazily. "They cannot keep _prying_ into classified matters!"

"My daughter's purchases from the Exchange are not _classified,_ " Walters said wearily. "And I've already shown them the receipts. What they _needed_ is any indication that these on base saw her."

"Her ID hasn't been used to get onto any base since…" he doubled clicked halfheartedly, eyes scanning the screen. "...October 28. After that, her trail goes cold where we're concerned." He fiddled with his pen, the irritating clicking filling the office. Anton unconsciously rubbed the pattern into his cat.

"We have dealt with the…" here the MP's countenance changed as he squirmed in his seat. "...the _slight_ breach in protocol regarding questioning her former place of employment-"

"It was a _direct violation,"_ Walters snapped, his command voice leaking through. "U.S law enforcement does not have any authority off base-"

"And we've been _strongly_ reminded of it!" The MP countered tensely. "Look, Sir, she barely came on base as it- it's more likely they'll find her than we ever will- but you do have to understand, Lt. Co," the man took a deep breath and seemed to calm, rubbing a hand over an all but over-polished badge. "A disappearance of a U.S citizen in a foreign country is a serious event. You've claimed she's done this before, but her contacts all have alibis for the days surrounding her disappearance and she's made no effort to contact you."

He leaned forward, voice lowering, distrustful eyes flitted to Selena and Anton. "If your girl doesn't turn up soon, we need to consider the possibility of an international threat."

Walters' breath caught. "You...you can't be serious."

"I am _deadly_ serious," the red face replied darkly. "This is going to go way above our heads, Sir. Think of who we're here to fight! If a hostile force is provoking us, then you know that absolutely _nothing_ will be able to stop-"

 _Dun dun duuuuuum, dun dun duuuuuuuuuun…._

As the opening of _Taps_ played over the loudspeaker, both men looked at each other awkwardly before slowly turning towards the distant Headquarters, holding themselves at attention in total silence.

Anton hopped off his seat and scampered to the window, amused as ever to see the cars slow down on the cobblestone road and their drivers step out before joining the frozen picture. His mother pulled him back, stroking his hair again in barely contained amusement.

The trumpet trailed off and life pressed play again.

"-our tactical advantages, as well as our ambassadors that they'll bring in." The man continued smoothly, though his face was slightly darker than before. "This cannot be _ignored,_ Sir."

"Nathan, I'm going to take Anton out to the car," Selena interrupted. She brushed a stray hair from her steely bun and took her son's hand, letting the _click_ of her heels drown out the MP's next question-

"Just out of curiosity, Sir, does your family have dual citizenship?"

Anton clutched the black cat and trotted after his mother, her mumbling inaudible but the tone clear. She leaned against their abused car and sighed heavily, sending Anton a weak smile.

"Thank you for being so good in there," she said, rubbing her forehead. Anton thought of the amount of time she did that during Auntie Frieda's calls and decided she must be stressed.

"Alles in Ordnung, Frau Kunze?" One of the guards called over, lifting his from where it rested on his hands, folded neatly over the top of his rifle.

She waved him off. " _Yes, thank you, Herr Heisel,"_ she assured the man. " _Just things as usual."_

The guard smiled to her as another car came rolling up. _"Ich halte dir die Daumen,"_ he wished, before turning back to the new car. "Thank you very much Sir; have a nice day!"

Anton had been scribbling frantically on his notebook and tugged his mother's dark blazer to get her attention.

 _I don't think he's gonna find Ivy,_ the shaky scrawl said. _But what was the other thing he said? Right before we went out?_

His mother rubbed her face before answering. "The international threat?" she confirmed, seeing Anton's nod, bright eyes staring up at her.

"It's...he thinks…" the words failed to form, so she took a breath and began again. "It's unlikely, but...not impossible. He doesn't think she's just off somewhere on her own."

 _Are we going to find her?_ Was the boy's next question. He turned the cat over and over in his free hand, until the cat might be sick.

Selena pushed Anton's blond hair back from his face, hearing the door close as her husband walked toward them. "We're never going to stop looking," she assured. "Hop in the car and let your _papa_ and I have a talk, hm?"

Anton nodded again and ducked inside the car, flinging himself across the hard leather of the backseat. His eyes drifted to a soda stain on the ceiling, where he'd first learned about the pressure drinks contained, and let his fingers ghost over the numerous scruffs made by Ivy's sneakers, or the dents made by her board.

 _That_ was the curious thing, he thought. Sure, nobody has seen Ivy, but her skateboard hadn't turned up. She'd _never_ let that thing out of her sight. Did that mean she was still riding around somewhere?

 _It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't,_ his young mind reasoned. He let his hand drop down until it struck Ivy's helmet, the only one she could be convinced to use. In the old days, when she'd take him to the park with her, he'd be consistently buckled up in every safety precaution on the market, even as she let her own pads dangle uselessly about her elbows.

"But it doesn't _fit!"_ He'd complained once. Ivy had only given him a grin as she buckled his helmet.

"Why'd you think I built my own?" She'd teased, rapping sharply on the top of his head.

"Man, all this moping around is _boring."_

Anton shot upright, glancing wildly around the car. The voice spoke up again from the passenger seat. "Oh, hi kid. 'Boo', and all that."

Anton hesitantly peered around the seat, dropping his notebook in shock at the sight of…

... _nothing._

He cautiously extended his finger until he hit something warm.

"OW! Jeez, kid, cut your nails! No clothes mean no armor, you know."

Anton pressed himself against the back of the car door, breathing heavily. There was a fumbling sound and the boy froze as the sensation of being watched crept over him.

"Ok, kid, are you going to scream or what?"

Anton considered the option, taking a breath and summoning the energy necessary, but the urge drained away as soon as his mouth opened. He shook his head numbly.

"Oh. uh, ok then," the man's voice- English, with what he'd later identify as a London accent- continued, sounding surprised. "That's- that's good then, I guess. Alright. You can call me whatever, I'll only be here for a little bit. You got a name?"

Anton supposed the invisible man wanted an answer, and it took him a moment to relax is muscles enough to nod. The hot interior of the car seeped over him in a wave, despite the chill of November outside.

"You talk?"

He hesitated again before nodding.

"Oh, we've got a real Einstein here, great. The whole lot of you, humans never change. Can't say I ever have." The man laughed at his own joke, seeming to turn back around as the knobs on the radio began to turn. "Sorry 'bout your sister, by the way," the voice called back. "It's a mess for everybody, really. Dropping whatever search you have going is probably the best option."

Suddenly static filled the air, and Anton winced at the high frequency.

"Course, it's not my problem," the man continued flippantly. "The only issue I see right now-" the static wavered- "is if you're gonna tell your folks about me."

Anton shrugged.

"Well, try not to," came the reply. "I don't think they need to worry about two kids at once, don't you?" The radio dials spun once more, and a rich, dark voice cut through the static.

"...amela Winchell has announced that she is, in fact, holding _another_ press conference later this afternoon," the voice reported steadily, despite the groan from the invisible man.

"Oh, come on, is anybody on besides _you?"_

"Reports came in from you, dear listeners, painting a vignette of the terror that reigned our town when the screeching metal station came on after the show the other night. 'It was, like, awful,' yelled one listener. 'Like, your ears were bleeding purple, thick blood, and it wasn't even Saturday. Totally weird.' May I suggest that we reflect on the words I leave you with at the end of our time together- after all, you never know when a connection is being made!"

"Shut up, Cecil," the invisible man snapped, shutting the radio off. The leather squealed as the man slumped back, letting out an indignant huff.

Anton picked up his notebook, wondering which of his million question he could ask first.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry about that," Walters said softly. "They're bored and it's making them... _that._ "

"Don't worry about them," Selena answered, folding her husband's hand in her own. "Did you call Mila?"

"Nothing," he said shakily. "She's got her friends looking around Berlin, I've called Nick in Frankfurt, I even emailed _Dodgers-"_

"Oh, god," she groaned, shutting her eyes. "And?"

"He was surprisingly complacent," Walters admitted, letting his eyes drop to Anton through the car window, who was tracing the seat. "Said he hadn't seen or heard from her but promised to keep an eye out."

"At least there's that," she muttered, grateful for his hand now wrapped around her own. She gazed into his bright blue eyes, remembering old jokes made about his all-American looks, and felt her bad mood ease.

"Nathan, we've got to do _something,_ " she stated, channeling calm and focus. Hysteria could wait until she saw her daughter. "She doesn't have her card, so she can't buy a plane ticket or too many hotel rooms. Her cell is at home, she hasn't called, she doesn't have her passports. Where could she have _gone?"_

 _BANG!_

The pair jumped as Anton kicked the glass window, both hands tight over his ears. Selena gasped and opened the driver's door, wincing at the loud radio blast.

 _"-ie neue hundert-sieben-sieben!"_ Came the bright, familiar jingle. " _Beste Pop und Rock für Stuttgart! Aber jetzt wir haben ein Stau aus die Froschstraße-"_

Selena shut it off, running a hand over Anton's knee. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Her son slowly opened his eyes and grabbed his notebook, fingers hovering over the page before glancing at the passenger seat and putting the paper down, nodding quietly. Walters moved to the other side of the car, prepared to give the usually sticky door an extra pull-

 _WACK!_

Walters fell backwards with a shout as the door flew open, feeling the sharp bite of the concrete on his shoulder. He thought he heard footsteps pounding past his ear, but his wife's call soon drowned them out.

"Nathan! For goodness sake, what's going on?" she pulled him up, calloused hands gripping his wrist.

"I'm fine," he grouched, rubbing his shoulder. "Looks like the door fixed itself!" He gave his wife a sheepish grin as she narrowed her eyes.

Anton leaned into the passenger seat and slammed his palm against it, a faint grunt of satisfaction escaping.

"All right, we're coming," Walters said, dropping himself into the seat while his wife took the wheel.

Anton stared uselessly at the radio, replaying the man's threats repeatedly in his mind, clutching his notebook close and wishing more than ever that his sister would come home.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 _Halloween Town_

 _Jack's Office_

 _Minutes before Sunset_

Jack sat slumped in his chair, one bony finger spinning the ancient globe listlessly. Next year's plans lay somewhere under his left foot, sketches of scary faces and Chifte's notes utterly forgotten. He rested his chin one on of the lineage books, feeling a headache begin to pound behind his eye sockets.

His centuries of wandering had cost him _dearly_ , he lamented for perhaps the thousandth time. By the time his conscious called on him, the Skellington lineage had faded and scattered across the globe. Different maps were spread across his workspace, with little skull pins marking towns and countries. James & Mira's line extended to Turkey, Norway, Utah, Washington...the possibilities seemed _endless._

He picked up a small glass jar, containing a few hair samples from one in Utah, glancing over the lineage documents again. The way he figured, he had two possible families there. A quick trip through a Gateway had provided him with his samples- vital, for if this man was about to go and start another family, Jack needed to know if he was a Skellington.

He haphazardly shoved the lineage books back on the shelf, not noticing a few papers flutter their way to the floor. He made his way down to the front door, tucking the glass jar into his pocket to avoid questions from his fellow Monsters, and peered into a dusty mirror to straighten his bowtie.

"You look excellent, Majesty," the magic mirror chanted dully. "For none can look scarier than thee- far better, I ponder, than the human over yonder."

Ivy's foot was barely visible in the mirror's reflection, poking out from the next room. He turned from the mirror and prepared to greet the houseguest, only to raise his brow in amusement at the sight before him.

The hardwood couch wasn't comfortable by human means, but Ivy seemed to have passed the point of caring, her face mashed into the arm she had tucked under her head. One foot hung off the couch, the other bent awkwardly in a way he knew would ache when she awoke. She'd peeled off her jacket for the first time since they'd met, showing her stained grey T-shirt and numerous old scratches. He'd seen many, _many_ sleeping humans over the years in his numerous scares, but most had seemed at peace or graceful under the thralls of sleep- clearly, however, there were exceptions, he amended, seeing Ivy's hair puff up as tangles formed. He frowned for a moment, swearing he could see brown and red smoke drifting from her closed eyes...or something moving just below her human form…

"Half past two is when she came, with not a greeting or glance toward this old frame," the mirror intoned indignantly. "Having felt Halloween Spirit in full power, I daresay she shall sleep for many an hour."

"I hadn't expected it to happen so soon," he said neutrally. "Should we test her memory soon?"

"Since no Halloween human I have seen," the mirror retorted, "the answer you seek I cannot glean."

Jack sighed. "Thank anyway," He made for the door, then doubled back and pulled her discarded jacket- far heavier than he was expecting- over her frame, giving her head an awkward pat. He nodded in satisfaction and left the manor, his mind now fully invested in the contents of the jar and Finkelstein's opinion.

It seemed his town had other plans, however.

Jack heard a whimpering from one of the alleyways off the town center. He cast his eyes up and down for the one in distress, confusion mounting when none appeared.

 _Perhaps it's one of the children trying to practice a scare on me?_ Jack wondered, eyes brightening at the thought. _That would be wonderful! Might as well see what they've got…_

He straightened up, ghosting one hand across the pocket with the jar, before making his face as innocent and unassuming as possible, trekking noisily down the alley.

"Hello?" he called, then immediately wondered if he'd overdone it. A renewed whine above his head drove the thought from his mind as he looked up to see Zero, who's black eyes gazed mournfully into whatever was left of Jack's soul.

"Oh, hello, Zero! What are you doing…" he trailed off as he noticed the ghost caught between two bricks. "Oh dear...haven't mastered phasing through objects?"

The dog whined again, his nose pointing to a hex gleaming over the bricks, keeping them- and himself- firmly in place.

"Who did this to you?" Jack asked as he cut through the hex, it's weakness giving him an inkling of the culprit. " _Shock..._ I assure you, I'll have a word with her, and this won't happen again." He removed the bricks, and after Zero gave his tail a careful examination, he darted forward and gave Jack a series of licks with the corporal tongue.

"Woah, boy!" Jack laughed, unable to resist giving the dog a scratch behind the ears. "You're certainly welcome. Watch out for the rest of the children, now." He turned to walk away, not noticing Zero cock his head and begin to bound after him.

"Arf!" Zero called to the skeleton, doing a flip in the air before him.

"Is there something else you need?" Jack asked, scanning the dog. "Have you made friends with the other ghosts?"

Zero shuddered, his eyes squinting, and Jack let out another laugh. "They like to intimidate newcomers," he assured. "If you like, I can introduce you later."

Zero flapped his ears, eyes narrowing as he looked around. He let out an excited _yip_ and dove into a nearby garbage can, despite Jack's shouts.

"Zero! Get out of there; you'll stink!"

The dog payed Jack no mind, rooting about for another moment before barking again, the sound oddly muffled. He wormed his way out of the garbage, turnip peel stuck to his back, with an old pipe in his mouth. He floated to Jack and dropped the pipe at his feet eagerly.

"Zero, that's _disgusting,_ " he scolded, picking up the pipe with two fingers. He tossed it over the rooftop and continued. "If you're looking for something to chew, we have much better- HEY!"

Zero had taken off like a shot, his white form streaking over the roof after the pipe. Moments later he returned, pipe in mouth, and a smug look of triumph on his ghostly face. He dropped the pipe again, panting.

Jack eyed the dog curiously, picking up the pipe. "What's so important about this pipe?" he asked, tracing over the goo and dirt, holding up to his face. "Is there some dark secret about the town on it? Is it part of your story when you were alive? What it, Zero, that attracts you to this pipe?"

Zero gazed in disbelief at his apparent leader, who was now holding the pipe up to his ...well, to the side of his skull, anyway. He took the pipe from Jack, games of tug-of-war with his old owner flashing in his mind, before hurtling the pipe further down the road.

"Hey now, I was examining it!" Jack protested, walking down the road to where it had fallen. Zero followed, flitting around the pumpkin king's head. He spotted something in Jack's pocket, and with the memory of treats being common in pockets, he dove in.

Jack shouted in alarm as Zero passed through his coat pocket, teeth clutching the jar. He shoved the dog away, wrapping his hand protectively around his cargo. "No!"

Zero shrank back, ears drooping, his sheet body folding itself in half as he tried to become as small as possible. He slowly drifted down, backing away from the angry skeleton.

Jack sighed and crouched down, adopting a softer tone. "Look, Zero, I'm sorry I yelled," he apologized, as Zero looked up at him with enormous, pitiful eyes. "Aww… look at me like that," he scolded gently. "It's just that I don't want this to get broken. I didn't mean to frighten you."

Zero slowly uncurled himself, before a voice called over to the two.

"Jack! Please, play with that dog before he drives us all mad!" A monster called, leaning out the window. "He kept stealing my laundry trying to play fetch." Feeling their point was made, the monster closed their window with a _snap!_

"Fetch?" Jack said aloud, seeing Zero perk up immediately and begin to flip wildly in the air. "Oh, is _that_ what you were trying to do?"

"Arf!" Zero confirmed, giving Jack another violent lick.

"You'll have to forgive me," Jack said, still crouched low to the ground. "I haven't had much interaction with dogs, I'm afraid."

Zero's jaw dropped comically, and he instantly wound his way around Jack's shoulders, butting his head against Jack's. The skeleton chuckled and stood carefully, casting his gaze around the area before reaching into his coat and pulling out a bone with a sharp _crack!_ Zero's ears darted up, alarmed.

"Don't worry; it doesn't hurt me," he assured, waving the rib before Zero's eyes. "Now, go get _this!"_ He hurtled the bone in the direction of Finkelstein's tower, grinning madly as the dog gave a squeal of excitement and bolted after it.

Jack chased after Zero, who took it as a challenge to get to the bone even faster. He struggled through the air, the Wind taking a neutral stance on the challenge, and Jack bounded across rooftops and stained cobblestone as they left the cluster of houses. Zero barked and dove into some _Monotropa uniflora,_ the plant wiggling around wildly until Zero's glowing head popped out, holding Jack's rib triumphantly. The skeleton grinned and tugged the bone from the dog's mouth, feeling decades younger and he watched the ghost bound around.

He wound his arm back, prepared to throw again, only to falter as he saw Finkelstein's tower nearby. The weight of the jar in his pocket seemed to increase, dragging Jack's hand down and bidding him to pop his rib back into place.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go now," Jack apologized earnestly. "I've some urgent business to conduct with the Doctor."

Zero huffed in the tower's direction, clearly remembering the man from the night before, but flapped his ears in acknowledgment and left, but not before giving Jack one final lick to the cheek.

After watching the dog scamper off, a soft smile on his face, Jack made his way up the winding path to the tower, his pace quickening with each passing moment.

He knocked on Finkelstein's tower door, listening to the sound echoing around the stone. He unconsciously straightened his tie and rubbed a dirt smudge Zero had smeared about.

 _You're just looking presentable for an old friend,_ he assured himself, optimistic despite the memory of himself visiting the Doctor covered in soot marks from a failed experiment appearing in his mind.

The door swung open softly, one eye scanning the Pumpkin King behind a mop of red yarn hair.

"Hello, Sally," Jack charmed, flashing a brilliant crooked smile. "Is the Doctor present?"

"Y-Yes, he is," Sally stammered faintly, opening the door wider and beckoning him inside. She kept her eyes low, but her mind absorbed the fine nuances and rhythm of Jack's speech, filing the words and gestures away. She tugged a small bell to signal the Doctor of his visitor, her hands falling into the comfortable pattern of tea making.

"Do you take bat's blood with your tea?" She asked, leaving her own without.

Jack brightened from his spot by the stairs, bouncing on his heels. "Oh, yes please! Four drops, if you don't mind."

Sally smiled and dropped the sweetener in, hearing the _whirr_ of the Doctor's wheelchair as he slowly left the laboratory. Knowing she only had seconds before she was in the shadows again, Sally steeled her nerves and turned to hand Jack his tea, pushing her hair from her face.

"How was the super moon celebration last night?" She asked, eyes fixated on the still-empty ramp.

Jack smiled animatedly, sipping his tea with gusto.

"It was wonderful!" he exclaimed, gesturing wildly with one hand. "Mud pies, pumpkin juice, Fool's Fingers- there was a whole _feast!_ The Wind and Fog put on a spectacular show, and the youngsters tried their hand at roping the Moon down."

"It sounds wonderful," she murmured, frowning at the lightness in her chest and the sensation of snakes withering in her stomach. "I wish I could have seen it."

Jack's brow furrowed. "Why couldn't you?" He asked.

Sally felt her stuffing seize in panic, and her fingers shook as she clutched her cup tighter. "Ah, well, I," she said, her voice wobbling, "I'm not really allowed to-"

Jack, my boy!" Came the shrill voice, as the Doctor appeared on his ramp. Sally thought she had never been so glad to see her Creator. "What a terror! I assume that the ghost has taken flight into the Outer Lands?"

"No such luck for you, Doctor," Jack replied slyly. "Zero has accepted Citizenship! Speaking of-" he turned towards Sally, who froze in her slow side-steps away from the conversation. "I think we can start talking about Citizenship for you, too, Miss Sally!"

 _Citizenship._ The new words swung gently in her mind, the feelings of belonging and safety welling up, but the connotation shuddered and the horror on the Doctor's face contrasting with the joy on Jack's.

"Would I be allowed to?" She asked cautiously. "And- sorry- what does Citizenship _mean_?"

"Don't apologize! It's becoming a member of the town, one of _us,"_ Jack said excitedly, hands flapping like albino bats. "The loyalty of town, a role in each Halloween-" the Doctor made a choked sound- "and protection from the Outer Lands-"

"'Outer Lands?'" she asked, feeling a trickle of icy fear in her stomach.

"Nothing to worry about," the Doctor cut in, sending Jack a warning glare. "We'll...discuss the possibility of this later."

Sally wondered why he was refusing to meet her eyes and looking at Jack instead. It was _her_ Citizenship, wasn't it?

"But Doctor-" Jack protested.

"Not now, Jack," the Doctor snapped, tone leaving no room for argument.

 _Oh._ Sally let her shoulders slump, before a worry of- well, of _something_ she didn't yet have a word for- caused her to straighten up once more.

Jack nodded hesitantly, sending Sally an apologetic smile. By the time she figured she ought to return in, the skeleton had turned away.

"So, what brings you, Jack?" The Doctor asked, without a hint of the previous hostility in his voice.

Jack's smile slid off his face, and he glanced nervously at Sally. "Ah...a private matter, I'm afraid." He touched one side of his coat, and the Doctor seemed to understand, sobering instantly. He turned to Sally, who winced at being back in the spotlight. "Sally. See if you can organize the chemical storage correctly, this time. Under no circumstances are you to disturb the Pumpkin King and I."

Sally turned to Jack, surprised to see the same dismissal in his eyes, and wondering at the lump that seemed to appear in her throat.

"O-oh, of course," she said, taking her cue. She made her way to the chemical storage, hearing the two Monsters make their way to the lab, and flinching as the cold metal key turned in the lock with a _click_ that bounced around the tower and Sally's head, leaving her alone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jack sipped the tea Sally had made him, watching as the Doctor carefully extracted the sample from the jar. He laid it on an unwound piece of parchment, turning his goggles on as he mixed a chemical formula together.

"When was this collected?" He asked, shaking the potion to become a dark, murky green.

"Two days ago," Jack answered, taking the Doctor's instruments from where they were scattered about the room, and unlocking an ancient box. Removing the key from his breast pocket, he opened the lid with a _creak,_ removing a lock of dark hair and a bit of charred skin. As always, dark memories swam before his vision, echoes of the past attacking his conscious, before he shook of the recollections and set the remains of the man he once was down on the table.

The human's hair was dropped into the formula, which popped and churned, bubbles of red floating around Jack's head, making his heart seize. The potion came out a brilliant rust color, and Jack frantically mixed another potion with his DNA, handing the similar concoction to the Doctor.

After several long minutes, the smaller monster let out a sigh and pushed his microscope away. "You dodged a bullet there, son," he said, exhaustion heavy in his voice. "This man isn't a Skellington. The family's fine."

Jack let out a sigh of relief but unwilling to mutter a prayer of thanks. "That leaves the other family, then," he pointed out dejectedly. "They'd gone out when I stopped by. I'll have to get them another time."

"Were any born near Halloween?" The Doctor asked carefully, uncertain of Jack's boundaries on the subject were.

Jack shook his head, desperately hoping his old friend wouldn't ask any more of him.

"Well, then, there's no immediate danger," the Doctor assured. "You'll worry yourself sick over this nonsense."

"I suppose you're right," Jack agreed, watching the man's hair fade to smoke in the potion. "Nothing has happened for centuries, perhaps that will be the case for many more."

The Doctor gave a noncommittal grunt, clearing away his work surface. "You know, many Monsters in town would be interested in these tests," he said casually.

"Doctor, we've talked about this," Jack frowned. "Citizens are meant to forget their pasts. Dwelling about won't do them any good."

"I could say the same about you," the Doctor responded critically. "Well, we'd best go see if Sally's managed to destroy the stores."

"I'm sure she wouldn't, Doctor," Jack chided, locking his box and tucking the key back into his pocket.

 _POOF!_

A series of sharp pops emitted from the kitchen area, and Finkelstein looked up at Jack in horror.

"I was jesting!" He cried, as though Jack had caused it. "She's not meant to do this!"

"Never mind that now," Jack cried, racing from the room. "We've got to see if Sally's ok!"

"Yes, yes...my poor supplies, what has she done to them?" the Doctor agreed, turning his wheelchair to _medium_ and rocketing after Jack.

They found the storage room, open and organized, but with numerous potions littering the way to the kitchen, where Sally stood over a cauldron, a quizzical look on her cloth face, seemingly oblivious to the countless soot marks covering her.

"That didn't work…" she murmured, tasting her concoction.

"SALLY! For Halloween's sake, my dear, what have you gotten yourself into?" Sally glanced up in alarm, the spell of concentration broken as she shrunk back into herself.

"Doctor! I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you, I didn't mean to, I simply wanted to- to-"

"Well? Spit it out, girl!"

Sally turned red and spat out whatever mixture she'd prepared.

"One of these days, my dear," the Doctor said in a defeated tone, "you are I are going to have a nice, long chat about figures of speech."

Jack took his cue to leave, sidestepping to the door and meeting Sally's eyes one last time before sprinting down the lane.

"Arf!"

Zero jumped into Jack's path, flipping backwards triumphantly. With the weight of the jar off his shoulders, he found it easier to greet the dog happily.

"Hello again! Were you waiting for me all that time?"

Zero managed to look bashful, rolling over and presenting his ghostly stomach, kicking his feet against Jack's hand until he got the hint, rubbing the dog into euphoria, before he completely forgot how to float and sank to the ground like a rock in the lake. Zero lay on the ground, whining happily, when suddenly his ears shot up and he flipped over, shaking away Jack's hand.

Having come to a hypothesis that nothing was more important to this dog than getting attention, Jack blinked at Zero in shock. He was growling as his ears swiveled around, the pumpkin on his nose twitching violently.

"Zero?" Jack asked his new friend hesitantly. "What's the matter?"

Zero let out a howl and lurched away from Jack, speeding through the air and barking as he left the stunned skeleton.

"Hang on a minute!" Jack called, running after the dog. "Wait up!"

Zero paid no mind to obstacles, be they monster or inanimate, as he tore through the center of town.

"Which way did he go?" Jack asked breathlessly, helping a particularly dazed Monster to their feet. He scanned the streets for any sign of the ghost dog.

"The new ghost? He went that way; I thought someone must 'a lit his tail on fire!" Another monster called, pointing towards the distant sound of Zero barking.

Jack leapt to the top of a roof, finally spotting a white form streaking across the brown grass.

"That's odd…" Jack said in confusion. "Why is he going to the Manor?"

* * *

 **Oh look, Zero & Jack bonding time! Something there's not nearly enough of. **

_Ich halte dir die Daumen:_ **I wish you luck**

 **'wait, a bomb?" Yeah, this is pretty common. Sometimes they're active, sometimes they're not, but old bombs are found every couple of months across Germany. Apparently one was found in Stuttgart back in September, but they managed to deactivate it, which is not always the case.**

 **'** _TAPS?'_ **Another common thing. It happens in the morning and in the afternoon, where everyone is expected to stand in silence until the music is done. It can be pretty bizarre to look out the window and see if you aren't watching the clock.**

 _"-ie neue hundert-sieben-sieben!"_ Came the bright, familiar jingle. " _Beste Pop und Rock für Stuttgart! Aber jetzt wir haben ein Stau aus die Froschstraße-":_ **Die neue 107.7 has been around for as long as I can remember, blasting American rock music and German pop songs, with occasional segments from Steven the Englishmann (who's an absolute gem.)**

 **'ein Stau' is a really, really bad traffic jam, and 'die Froschstrasse' is the Frog Road- a backway to one of the bases that is _notorious_ for two things:**

 **1) The frogs that cross the road, leading to numerous signs being put up, and**

 **2) Some of the worst traffic in the surrounding area, and way too many accidents. Does this stop people from using it? Not in the slightest.**

 **See you soon!**

 **-Aria**


End file.
